Confirmed: Increase in Part-Time Work is Long-Term Shift in Corporate Strategy
A new report by the Economic Policy Institute confirms that there has been a structural change in low wage employment toward part-time work. This is apart from cyclical changes brought about by normal business cycles or even the Great Recession. The number of involuntary part-time workers shot up from 4.5 to 9 million during the Great Recession. Although the current levels are 6 million–an improvement from the 9 million during the Great Recession–we have not returned to pre-recession levels. The report states that employers are using part-time work as a cost …
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Place, Race, and Equity Legislative Watch: June Edition
Welcome to the Place, Race, and Equity Legislative Watch, which tracks proposed federal legislation by Congress that impact the fight to eliminate place-based inequality. Between January 3 and May 26th, members of Congress have proposed 5,149 bills and resolutions. Of these, 40 are on the topic of Housing and Community Development. In that time, 16 bills have become law. Note: Senator Lindsey Graham has stated, “For all practical purposes the political process will be ground to a halt by these allegations,” in reference to the ongoing allegations against President …
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Report: Economic Policy in New Jersey
New Jersey Policy Perspective released a new report March 10th, outlining their recommendations to improve the economic prospects for all New Jersey residents. The report includes policies to address poverty, tax reform, health care, and improvements to safety net programs. The report was released at a conference last Friday, which featured speeches and breakout sessions by some of the leading policy experts in the state. There was a tremendous keynote speech by Heather McGhee of Demos and talks from several gubernatorial candidates.
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Financial Health of Cities is Connected to that of Residents
On Feb 9, the Urban Institute hosted a panel highlighting the interdependence of household financial security and city budgets. Researchers have found that even a small amount of savings dramatically reduces the likelihood of costly remedial support services and can improve income for local governments. The panelists point out that cities and mayors, with their convening power, are “uniquely positioned” to interrupt the cycle of poverty.
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From Salon: the REAL Forgotten Americans
A new article by Salon makes an outstanding counterpoint to the growing narrative of 'the forgotten Americans' as the white working class voters from the US Midwest. Most poignantly, writer Leonard Steinhorn points out that "in the four presidential elections since 2004, candidates held 46 percent of their general-election visits in just five Rust Belt states — Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa — whereas they held none in Alabama and a grand total of one in Mississippi, and that was a predominantly white rally Trump held in Jackson, miles away from the largely black Delta."
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Place, Race, and Equity Legislative Watch
Welcome to the Place, Race, and Equity Legislative Watch. We will be tracking proposed federal legislation by Congress that impact the fight to eliminate place-based inequality. Before proposed legislation becomes law, it is reviewed by an internal committee, then must pass a House vote, Senate vote, and finally be approved by the President. Through at least 2018, the Senate and House Majority are Republican. For context, according to the Library of Congress, the 114th Congress proposed 18,747 bills, resulting in 113 laws in the 2015-2016 session.
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New Report on Thriving U.S. Suburbs
"Suburban housing markets across the United States are evolving rapidly and overall remain well-positioned to maintain their relevance in the years ahead as the places where most Americans live and work, even as many urban cores and downtown neighborhoods continue to attract new residents and businesses, according to a new publication from the Urban Land Institute (ULI).
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What We're Reading
1. A new report by the Urban Land Institute provides a nuanced view of U.S. suburbs, including classification, maps, and important insights for policy and planning. 2. Frameworks Institute, a research organization that applies the cognitive and social sciences to policy messaging, has released recommendations for a variety of equity-related topics, including criminal justice and affordable housing. 3. The Coalition on Human Needs issued the Human Needs Report summarizing current actions of the 115th Congress in the areas of safety net, healthcare and labor, as well as a freeze on all new agency regulations.
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New Report by the Urban Institute: A Vision for an Equitable D.C.
The inequality that the report examines is heavily correlated with race; and the report also expounds upon how the amelioration of racial disparities would benefit not only people of color, but the District of Columbia as a whole. Specifically, the report cites the National Equity Atlas which predicted that if black and brown DC residents had income parity with white DC residents, the DC economy would have been more than $65 billion larger in 2012.
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