SEPTEMBER 5, 2012 
On Tuesday, September 11, the Economic Policy Institute will release the 12th Edition of The State of Working America, EPI’s comprehensive analysis of the economic well-being of America’s workers.
New books bring EPI’s data to the forefront
With the issue of income inequality occupying an ever-growing space in today’s public discourse, EPI’s research on the topic is at the center of the conversation. For the past 25 years, EPI has documented and analyzed income, wage and wealth inequalities and their impact on the living standards of America’s families. The upcoming 12th Edition of The State of Working America analyzes decades of data, including the most up-to-date, to tell the story of inequality and the associated stagnation of incomes, wages and wealth for the vast middle class.
Influential leaders rely on EPI’s data
In recent months, a number of prominent economists and journalists have chronicled the rise of inequality in new books, relying heavily on EPI’s research. Recent titles include Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz’s The Price of Inequality, Pulitzer Prize and Emmy Award-winning author and producer Hedrick Smith’s Who Stole the American Dream?, senior editor of The New Republic Timothy Noah’s The Great Divergence, MSNBC host Chris Hayes’s Twilight of the Elites, New York Times columnist and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman’s End This Depression Now!, and famed political strategists James Carville and Stan Greenberg’s It’s the Middle Class, Stupid!
“It’s the Middle Class, Stupid!”
In fact, not only did Carville and Greenberg use EPI’s research but the pair asked EPI President Lawrence Mishel to find the most compelling charts that show how low- and middle-income workers have lost ground over the past 30 years and were shocked by what Mishel gave them. The pair wrote: “The totality stopped us cold. The two of us study these problems every day, but looking at that mélange of graphs, we felt like were looking at a different country in a different time.”
Charlie Cook, the famed political reporter, in his review of the Carville/Greenberg book said, “What Mishel produced is deeply disturbing and is alone worth the price of the book—a picture of what many of us sensed had happened, but that is much more dramatic when graphically displayed.”
Only six more days until The State of Working America is released
The twelfth edition of The State of Working America, to be released on Tuesday, September 11, documents the rise of inequality and how it hurts America’s workers. Bookmark the site now, and come back in a week to get the latest data and analysis.
“The State of Working America remains unrivaled as the most-trusted source for a comprehensive understanding of how working Americans and their families are faring in today’s economy.”
—Robert B. Reich, Secretary of Labor under President Clinton
“No matter what political camp you’re in, this is the single most valuable book I know of about the state of America, period. It is the most referenced, most influential resource book of its kind.”
—Jeff Madrick, author, The End of Affluence