wage stagnation - The New School SCEPA

1. Who Does the Earned Income Tax Credit Benefit?

Working Paper—The popular EITC program is credited with encouraging employment and reducing poverty. But a SCEPA working paper suggests it may also reduce wages for low-education workers, including older workers who do not receive EITC benefits at the same rate as younger workers.

2. Alternative Work and Reservation Wages

Working paper— Workers at all earnings levels would benefit from expanding Social Security. SCEPA proposes defaulting workers into “Catch-Up” contributions, where— starting at age 50— they would contribute an additional 3.1% of their salary. The increase in alternative work arrangements among older workers is due to low wages stemming from older workers' decreased bargaining power.

3. EITC's Impact on Workers Who Don't Qualify

Working paper— Social Security benefits are progressive and reduce the unequal distribution of retirement wealth generated by a broken employer-based retirement systeThe Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) can cause wage declines for workers who do not receive the tax credit.

4. Top 5 Cities Where Older Workers' Wages Fell and Younger Workers' Wages Soared

January 2018 Unemployment Report for Workers Over 55

5. The Stagnation of Male Wages

For typical American male workers, there has been no general rise in wages since the late 1960s, with only short periods of modest improvement.