Blog

PPI’s Trade Fact of the Week: 55 countries have ratified the WTO’s 2022 fishery subsidies agreement. They need 55 more by late February.

01.17.2024

FACT: 55 countries have ratified the WTO’s 2022 fishery subsidies agreement. They need 55 more by late February. THE NUMBERS: ‘Capture fisheries’ annual tonnage by country, 2021 – Country Total Ratified WTO Fisheries Agreement? World: 92.2 million tons — China 13.1 million tons Yes Indonesia 7.1 million tons Not yet Peru 6.6 million tons Yes Russia…

PPI’s Trade Fact of the Week: A quarter of Ohio’s manufacturing workers work for international businesses

01.10.2024

FACT: PPI’s Trade Fact of the Week: A quarter of Ohio’s manufacturing workers work for international businesses. THE NUMBERS: U.S. private-sector employment, 2021: 124.38 million … at foreign-owned businesses: 7.94 million … U.K.-owned: 1.22 million … German-owned: 0.92 million … Canadian-owned: 0.87 million … Japanese-owned: 0.96 million … all other countries: 3.97 million   WHAT…

Looking Forward: Pacific Strategy and U.S. Relations with Vietnam and Thailand

01.04.2024

Thoughts and Conclusions After Consultations in Hanoi and Bangkok, December 2023 Note: A five-person PPI staff group including Marshall and Gresser recently returned from a two-week visit to these two countries, with extensive consultations in Hanoi and Bangkok.  The following lays out some of the information and conclusions the group drew from these visits. Vietnam…

Some Observations on Proposed Capital Requirements

01.04.2024

Strong capital requirements help protect taxpayers and prevent financial crises. As the savings and loan industry bailout of 1989 and the 2008 financial crisis underscore, when banks take on too much risk with too little capital, workers, small businesses, and American taxpayers pay the price. PPI believes strong, tangible capital requirements for depository institutions are…

PPI’s Trade Fact of the Week: The price of a 40-inch TV set has fallen by 99% in 25 years

01.03.2024

FACT: The price of a 40-inch TV set has fallen by 99% in 25 years. THE NUMBERS: Price of a 40-inch flat-screen TV – 2023 $150 – $300 (Best Buy and Amazon range) 2005 $4,000 (Sony) 1997 $22,900 (Fujitsu’s first 40″ plasma TV) WHAT THEY MEAN: The election year 2024 opens with many questions, but…

PPI’s 2023 Year in Review

12.20.2023

Dear friends,  For the Progressive Policy Institute, 2023 was a year of dramatically expanded reach. We added to our team of highly talented policy analysts and innovators. We enlarged our global footprint, visiting no less than 21 countries. And we expanded our political outreach and ideas for modernizing progressive parties at home and abroad. PPI…

PPI’s Trade Fact of the Week: Pirate attacks are at their lowest in 30 years

12.20.2023

FACT: Pirate attacks are at their lowest in 30 years. THE NUMBERS: Annual pirate attacks on shipping* –  2023 120? 2023 115 2013 264 2012 439 2000 471 * Totals from International Maritime Bureau WHAT THEY MEAN: How many ships are on the water? UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport 2023 counts precisely 105,395 large cargo ships, defined…

The New Amazon West Humboldt Park is Good News for Chicago Workers

12.18.2023

It’s time to revisit one of our favorite topics, the evolution of wages in ecommerce. It is often claimed, falsely, that the entry of Amazon and other large ecommerce firms into local labor markets lowers wages. For example a recent op-ed in the Chicago Sun Times argued that “Amazon’s dominance drives down local wages for…

Bipartisan Legislation Makes Progress on Workforce Development, But Is it Enough?

12.15.2023

The House Education & Workforce Committee has been busy the past two weeks. On Tuesday, the Committee passed two bipartisan bills, The Workforce Pell Act and A Stronger Workforce for America Act. These policies have huge implications for our nation’s workforce development system. Here is a breakdown of what they mean and how these bills…

PPI’s Trade Fact of the Week: The number of ‘chronically undernourished’ people has grown by 163 million since 2017

12.13.2023

FACT: The number of “chronically undernourished” people has grown by 163 million since 2017. THE NUMBERS: Estimated count of “undernourished” world population – 2022 735 million; 9.2% of world population 2021 739 million; 9.3% of world population 2017 571 million; 7.5% of world population 2015 589 million; 7.9% of world population 2010 598 million; 8.6% of…

PPI’s Trade Fact of the Week: U.S. clothing tariffs are unfair to women

12.06.2023

FACT: U.S. clothing tariffs are unfair to women. THE NUMBERS: Average U.S. tariff rates* for clothing by gender, 2022 –  Men’s 13.6% Women’s 16.7% No specified gender 12.0% * Tariff revenue divided by import value.  These calculations includes tariff revenue collected from both imports subject to MFN tariff rates, and from Chinese products subject to “301”…

Students Learn Construction Skills as They Build Homes for Low-Income Families

12.04.2023

By Khalique Rogers, Joe Nathan, and Tressa Pankovits Earlier this year, with strong bipartisan support, Minnesota legislators passed a pair of bills that they call “triple win” legislation. The new laws are designed to address three critical issues: ensuring public school students graduate with marketable skills, the shortage of certified construction workers, and a pervasive…