William Spriggs serves as Chief Economist to the AFL-CIO, and is a professor in, and former Chair of, the Department of Economics at Howard University. Bill assumed these roles in August 2012 after leaving the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government.
Bill was appointed by President Barack Obama, and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, in 2009 to serve as Assistant Secretary for the Office of Policy at the United States Department of Labor, taking a leave of absence from Howard University to do so. At the time of his appointment, he also served as chairman for the Healthcare Trust for UAW Retirees of the Ford Motor Company and as chairman of the UAW Retirees of the Dana Corporation Health and Welfare Trust, vice chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute; and on the joint National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Public Administration’s Committee on the Fiscal Future for the United States and the UFCW National Commission on ICE Misconduct; and, as Senior Fellow of the Community Service Society of New York; and served on the boards of the National Employment Law Project and the Eastern Economic Association.
Bill’s previous work experience includes roles leading economic policy development and research as a Senior Fellow and Economist at the Economic Policy Institute; as Executive Director for the Institute for Opportunity and Equality of the National Urban League; as a Senior Advisor for the Office of Government Contracting and Minority Business Development for the U.S. Small Business Administration; as a Senior Advisor and Economist for the Economics and Statistics Administration for the U.S. Department of Commerce; as an Economist for the Democratic staff of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress; and, as staff director for the independent, federal National Commission for Employment Policy.
While working on his PhD in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, Bill began his labor career as co-president of the American Federation of Teachers, Local 3220 in Madison, Wisconsin.
He is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and the National Academy of Public Administration.
Last week, the White House announced changes in projections for fiscal health. In June, the government will have a surplus and the projected deficit for this year will be $214 billion less than originally projected. That means the deficit will be 4.7% of GDP (the nation’s total income), down from the original forecast of 6%. Moreover, the deficit will be below 3% of GDP by 2017. Now it is time for the follies to begin.
On Oct. 4, 1957, the Soviet Union shocked America with the successful launch of Sputnik I, the first man-made object launched into Earth orbit. The 20th century quickly became passé, the race was on for the 21st century and America realized the race would be won with technical skill and know-how. So, the response was quick. By September 1958, President Eisenhower and the 85th Congress, with the Senate almost evenly split between 49 Democrats and 47 Republicans voting 62-26, put in place the National Defense Student Loan program.
This week Americans will celebrate July 4th and America’s independence. It also will be a time when public ceremonies are held to swear in newly naturalized American citizens. That gives us a chance to reflect on comprehensive immigration reform and think about the economic implications.
The U.S. Senate is in the midst of debating the long-awaited comprehensive immigration bill to address the plight of millions of workers in the United States who need resolution to finding them a path to citizenship. Republicans in Congress have been warned by some in their leadership that the Republican Party must be on the right side of history on this bill and help it pass. This sentiment is a light in recent public debates where the Republican Party has preferred the darkness of saying no to progress on America’s journey, like voting rights and workers’ rights.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate increased slightly from 7.5% to 7.6% in May. Each month, comments on this number include a discussion on “labor force participation"—the number that is released is based on people who are “in the labor force.” To be included in the labor force, someone has to either be employed, or actively looking for work.
This week, the Center for American Progress (CAP), a think-tank closely associated with President Obama’s Administration since it was the home of many key White House officials like Gene Sperling and Melody Barnes, changed course on backing a “grand bargain” with Republicans on cutting Social Security and Medicare benefits and raising taxes on high income earners to balance the budget in the long run. After taking a position favoring a debate on shrinking government back in 2009, CAP now sees four years later, that the job crisis remains while the federal deficit and the size of government has plummeted. But, let’s hope this change in heart has a similar effect on the Obama administration.
Last week, the Social Security Trust Fund report was released. One of its more telling charts was of the trend in Social Security revenue. Social Security revenue comes from a tax on the wages of earners, paid by both employees and employers. So, essentially it tracks the level of employment. Based on the simple trend of revenues from 1990 to 2007, just before the Great Recession started, 2012 revenue would have been $899.4 billion; instead, it was $840 billion. That gap means less money to build up the Social Security Trust Fund than expected. The trustees do not break down the revenue by the age of workers, but based on the dramatically lower employment experience of young workers, the bulk of that gap reflects the lost wages of young people.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued its economic outlook for the modern, democratic, industrialized economies at its annual meeting of member nation ministers. It was mostly gloom. The European members of the OECD are mired in a deep economic slump. In 2012, the European members had a drop in Gross Domestic Product (the combined value of goods and services produced) of 0.5% and is projected to have that same poor performance in 2013. Behind those numbers, however, are the lives of real people. When an economy shrinks, it means there are fewer jobs and that means growing stress on the day-to-day lives of people. Just as in the United States, the loss of job opportunities is being felt most keenly by young workers.
Over the weekend, young people watched or read about President Obama speaking at Morehouse College and first lady Michelle Obama addressing the graduates of Bowie State University. Hopefully they were inspired by seeing so many young and gifted people finishing the course they chose to follow. Well, here is a little known set of facts.
Recently, the Heritage Foundation released a report condemning the current push for resolving America’s moral dilemma over immigration. One of its co-authors, Jason Richwine, has a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University. But, it turns out that his dissertation concluded that Hispanic immigrants have low intelligence and will have grandchildren in America, with low intelligence. Now, the Heritage Foundation has made several efforts to distance themselves from that work, painstakingly pointing out that Richwine worked at the American Enterprise Institute when he was working on his dissertation.
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