Income Inequality

Real-world experiments in messaging show that getting low-income people the help they need is more effective when stigma is reduced

COMMENTARY | The stigma around poverty and government benefits can make those initiatives less effective.

  • By Jessica Lasky-Fink and Elizabeth Linos, The Conversation

Proposed wage theft legislation would strip violators of their ability to do business in New York

If passed, the three bills would suspend businesses' ability to operate, collect sales tax or use their liquor licenses unless employers resolve wage theft claims within 15 days.

  • By Marcus Baram, ProPublica

Why it’s more expensive for Black towns to borrow money

"This is how your sewage gets funded, this is how your water gets funded, this is how public schools and public services are funded," one expert says.

  • By Jake Bittle and Siri Chilukuri, Grist

How State and Local Leaders Can Address America’s Wealth Gap

COMMENTARY | The traditional method of offering incentives to corporations to help generate economic development in distressed areas has failed. It’s time to embrace a more people-centric approach called community wealth building.

  • By Sarah McKinley and Isaiah J. Poole

Maternal Health Risks Increase Where Rent is High

COMMENTARY | New research links high rent relative to income with life-threatening risks to maternal health during labor and delivery.

  • By Futurity

$1K Monthly Payments Begin Under 3-Year Guaranteed Income Program

Los Angeles County says its 1,000-participant initiative will be among the nation’s longest-running.

  • By Molly Bolan

The Connection Between Wage Theft and Climate Disasters

COMMENTARY | For too many low-wage workers, workers of color and immigrants, wage theft is a painful part of life. Elected officials need to act to stop this practice, which is especially rampant after hurricanes, wildfires and other weather events.

  • By Emily Timm

3 Reasons Why Expanding Access to Homeownership Alone Won’t Close the Racial Wealth Gap

COMMENTARY | This strategy has not lead to real progress in the last few decades. More structural changes are needed in many policy areas to increase wealth for Black and Brown Americans.

  • By Samantha Fu

Young Women Earn the Same or More Than Male Peers in These US Cities

Nevertheless, only about 16% of all working women age 30 or younger live in the areas where they are at or above wage parity with men, the report shows.

  • By Andre Claudio

The States With the Highest and Lowest Wage Gaps

While the gender-based wage gap in the U.S. has decreased in recent years, discrepancies remain, according to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

  • By Andre Claudio

How to Reduce Inflation-induced Costs for Low-income Families

Policymakers at all levels can implement solutions that help families in the short term while battling the long-term problems, according to the Urban Institute.

  • By Andre Claudio

Want Landlords to Lease to Families With Housing Vouchers? Try Asking in New Ways

COMMENTARY | The pandemic has brought new attention to the challenge of finding landlords who will accept Housing Choice Vouchers. A recent experiment offers lessons about what might help landlords say yes.

  • By Jonathan Bigelow
Featured eBooks
The State of Trust in Government
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Study: More Than Half of Women in Tech Say Their Gender is Limiting Their Careers

The study suggests one of the biggest barriers for women in tech is a lack of promotion opportunities.

  • By Frank Konkel

Availability of Affordable Housing a ‘Major Problem’

But opinions about what is affordable vary based on demographic factors, including income, race, ethnicity and age, research shows.

  • By Andre Claudio

The States That Raised Their Minimum Wages

Twenty-one states increased their minimum wages this year and nine more planning to boost them later in 2022.

  • By Andre Claudio

How Brad Pitt’s Green Housing Dream for Hurricane Katrina Survivors Turned Into a Nightmare

So much went wrong with the homes built by the Make It Right Foundation that its low-income homebuyers were deprived of the financial security they were promised.

  • By Judith Keller , The Conversation

Cash Support for Low-income Families Directly Affects Baby Brains

COMMENTARY | A year of providing money to low-income mothers to reduce poverty had a direct effect on children’s brain development, researchers say.

  • By Duke University, Futurity

Where the Standard of Living Is Highest and Lowest

A new working paper finds that geographical differences in the standard of living are economically large.

  • By Andre Claudio

5 Strategies to Help Residents Without Bank Accounts Get Rental Assistance

Unbanked tenants have a harder time applying for emergency rental assistance, along with difficulty accessing assistance if they do receive funds, according to a report.

  • By Andre Claudio

OSHA to States: Protect Workers from Covid-19 or Forfeit Authority

The federal government put states on notice ahead of the vaccine mandate, saying it will take any defiance seriously.

  • By Alex Brown, Stateline

A Breakdown of the Black-White Homeownership Inequality Gap

Homeownership is less achievable for Black Americans and they live in neighborhoods with houses valued at $48,000 less than white families’ homes, a new report reveals.

  • By Andre Claudio