Rates of opioid addiction in the United States have continued to increase leading to the destruction of families, a decline in labor participation, and rising healthcare costs. Out of all the drug overdose deaths in 2015, 63.1% involved an opioid. This problem has been appropriately called an epidemic and its consequences and widespread effect have … Continue reading
America has a drug problem that goes well beyond opiates and abuse. Pharmaceutical drug prices have skyrocketed in the last decade and fueled an overall increase in health care costs and spending[1]. The top ten most prescribed medications have all risen more than 50% since 2011, with four out of ten having doubled in cost. … Continue reading
Is the Skills Gap Real? On July 28th, Labor Secretary R. Alexander Acosta announced in his blog that there are about 6 million open jobs in the U.S, and it is estimated that American companies are missing out on nearly USD 250 billion due to these unfilled jobs. This number is large compared to 6.9 … Continue reading
This might very well be the busiest year of the Atlantic hurricane season, and with two months left the Americas shudder at the thought of what next, who’s next, and when. Three major hurricanes—Harvey, Irma, and most recently Maria—all made landfall roughly one week apart, and caused widespread devastation across several U.S. cities and total … Continue reading
On September 13th the House subcommittee on Worker Protection and the subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions held a congressional joint hearing to consider the Save Local Business Act. The proposed bill seeks to define joint employers as those who have “actual, direct, and immediate control” over employees and to roll back the Obama … Continue reading
Rural America is struggling. As blue-collar jobs move overseas and people flock to major cities in an increasingly knowledge-based economy, rural America is being left behind in the next wave of economic growth. President Donald Trump broke the Democratic “blue wall” in the 2016 presidential election by appealing to rural voters, running on a platform … Continue reading
WIOA Workforce GPS (GPS) and the Innovation and Opportunity Network (ION) are two virtual components of WIOA that offer different resources, grants, announcements, online training, and personalized accounts to help Americans find employment. The online portals also offer ‘Communities’ and ‘Collections’. According to the information provided on Workforce GPS, “Communities offer you the chance to … Continue reading
Introduction The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) supports individuals from sectors across society who are looking for employment, training, or other workforce assistance. WIOA is a federal program implemented by states and it has only been active since July 1, 2016. The program is supported by a bipartisan majority and has been praised by … Continue reading
On June 28, the Chinese Ministry of Transportation issued a new regulation declaring that online car-hailing services in China can operate lawfully, which took effect on Nov. 1. In China, strict governmental rules repeatedly trip up local and foreign internet companies. Before this new regulation, local governments in major cities restricted the registration and use … Continue reading
Donald Trump’s proposal to build a border wall to seal off Mexico and deport all undocumented immigrants has made immigration a top issue in the 2016 presidential campaign. Unfortunately, much of public policy discourse around immigration stems from misconceptions about how immigration affects wages and employment in the U.S. labor market. The concern that immigrants … Continue reading
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