A new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows that wages for the vast majority of America's working families have stagnated or declined over the past decade and that raising wages is the key challenge facing the country in terms of growing the economy and recovering from the Great Recession. In A Decade of Flat Wages: The Key Barrier to Shared Prosperity and a Rising Middle Class, authors Lawrence Mishel and Heidi Shierholz note that while productivity and corporate profits are on the rise, that prosperity is not being shared with workers. They also point out that the only notable growth in wages is concentrated on corporate executives and in the finance sector, meaning the bulk of wage growth has gone to the upper 1% of the workforce. 

In August 1963, as was the case 100 years earlier when the cemetery for the heroes of Gettysburg was dedicated, many speeches were delivered; but one stood out as a galvanizing moment to redefine and repurpose a movement. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, delivered in November 1863, clearly defined the issue of the Civil War to be whether states’ rights could trample the rights of anyone. Similarly, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech came to define the civil rights movement of a century later. It has come to be interpreted as a call for a colorblind society, instead of a call to end racial injustice. His vision was more powerful than the sanguine, “not judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character,” interpretation that has seen right-wing conservatives quoting Dr. King’s speech to justify racial disparities; in the same way that tea party members embrace Lincoln’s “government of the people,” to somehow mean no government at all.

The latest video from the Electrical Workers (IBEW) takes a look at the fast-growing solar panel business and how IBEW members are working hand in hand with management at Sharp Electronics to manufacture a quality product. Business is booming at the Memphis, Tenn., plant and that owes a lot to the skill and training of the IBEW members who work there.

Of all developed nations in the world, the United States has the most unequal distribution of income...and it's getting worse. 

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich says in his new documentary, "Inequality for All," "If workers don't have power, if they don't have a voice...their wages and benefits start eroding."

Check out the trailer for this film and see more content like this on the Upworthy Workonomics site. 

The latest post in the Workonomics series at Upworthy asks the question, "How Did We Get to a Point Where a Child Is Saying Sorry to Her Mom for Costing Her Money?" The video is an excerpt from the HBO documentary "American Winter," which follows eight families struggling in the aftermath of the Great Recession. This clip shows how income inequality and cuts to social services have real consequences for families.

From 2006 until the restaurant closed recently, The Linkery, in San Diego, didn't allow customers to tip its servers. Instead, a flat surcharge of 18% was added to every bill. The restaurant's owner, Jay Porter, made the policy for a variety of reasons and has written about the experience extensively at his blog and elsewhere.

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has released a lot of 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 Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest report on the job market on Aug. 2. It had some good news for African Americans: The black unemployment rate in July dipped to 12.6%, its lowest level since January 2009. The BLS also reported that since August 2012 the unemployment rate for adult black men (those older than 20) remains below its 14.4% level in January 2009 and was reported at 12.5% in July. More importantly, the share of black men holding jobs continues to rebound from its record low of 56.5% in 2011 to 59.2%, almost equal its level of 60.4% in January 2009. That was the good news.

A recent episode of the online news program "The Young Turks" took a look at a new fast-food restaurant in Detroit, Moo Cluck Moo, that is doing the right thing and paying its workers a living wage. While the minimum wage in Detroit is $7.40, Moo Cluck Moo pays its workers $12 per hour and is planning to offer benefits soon. The company's owner says that he started paying the higher wage because "it was the right thing to do."

Katrina Vanden Heuvel has a great piece in The Washington Post this morning on the future of higher education and the trillion-dollar mountain of student debt weighing down millions of America's working families.