Jared Bernstein and Ross Eisenbrey first researched a new overtime rule proposal during the Bush Administration. A nonstarter then, they revived interest in the policy change around the start of President Obama’s second term. The work of the two economic experts, based at the DA-recommended Center for Budget and Policy Priorities and Economic Policy Institute respectively, paid off this year – for them, and for millions of workers.
They’re in good company on the Politico 50, Politico Magazine’s roundup of “the thinkers, doers and visionaries transforming American politics in 2016.” Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden earned recognition, along with Ann O’Leary and Heather Boushey, for her influence on Hillary Clinton’s domestic policy. Ady Barkan of the Center for Popular Democracy is there too, for using direct action to successfully pressure the Federal Reserve. And Robert E. Scott of EPI gained notoriety to match his intellectual rigor when he blasted Donald Trump for repeatedly distorting his research in a major speech.