The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has released important research about the economy in the past few weeks. Here's a look at some of the key pieces it uncovered about the U.S. economy.

The top 1% take home 20% of America’s income : Growing income inequality, which began accelerating in the 1980s, is based on intentional policy decisions on taxes, trade, labor, macroeconomics and financial regulation.

Low churn underscores weakness of the labor market : The very low level of turnover in the job market is a sign that the economy is still struggling since it means that job opportunities are scarce and workers are less likely to change jobs in search of something better.

Is a “blank-slate” approach the right way to reform our tax code? : Thomas L. Hungerford argues that the "blank-slate" approach to tax reform proposed by Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), which is aimed at broadening the tax base and simplifying the tax code, will do neither.

Lagging minimum wage is one reason why most peoples’ wages have fallen behind productivity : If wages had kept up with productivity, the minimum wage would be higher than the real current median wage, but employers haven't rewarded workers for increases in productivity.

The Trans-Pacific: Partnership could be much worse than the over-hyped Korea deal : Projected jobs created by past trade deals have failed to produce the jobs supporters promised, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership is unlikely to perform any better.

The president’s economic speech in 10 charts (and more) : EPI looks at the president's speech and finds his description of the ailing economy is strongly consistent with the facts.

Four years into the recovery, high unemployment haunts much of the country : Seventeen states have unemployment rates above the national average of 7.6%, while only eight states have unemployment rates below the pre-recession level of 5.0%.

African Americans are still concentrated in neighborhoods with high poverty and still lack full access to decent housing : Nearly half of poor black children live in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty, compared to only 12% of poor white children. Living in such neighborhoods is a significant factor in a wide variety of problems, from lower test scores to lower economic mobility.