The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank using the tools of economics for more than 30 years to defend and promote the interests of workers in economic policy debates at the national, state, and local level. EPI was created in 1986 to broaden discussions about economic policy to include the needs of low- and middle-income workers. EPI believes every working person deserves a good job with fair pay, affordable health care, and retirement security. To achieve this goal, EPI conducts research and analysis on the economic status of working America. EPI proposes public policies that protect and improve the economic conditions of low- and middle-income workers and assesses policies with respect to how they affect those workers.