Content categorized as Income Inequality

Rally for poor and low-income people brings thousands to DC

Low-income people from across the nation rallied in the Poor People’s Campaign’s ‘Assembly and Moral March on Washington.’

How a street paper can change a person’s life

Gerald Anderson will never forget the first time he ever stole something. It was sometime in the late 1970s in New Orleans, La. And 10… Read more »

The pandemic utility shutoff moratorium expired in October. Here’s how to get utility assistance in DC

Even as STAY D.C. applications are closed and the city has lifted its utility moratorium, residents still have access to myriad resources to help pay for their utilities this winter.

Metro derailment brings transit equity issues to light

Each morning before heading to a public charter school in southeast Washington, one teacher must decide if she’s going to pay for an Uber, which… Read more »

Calls increase for a guaranteed income in DC. There are multiple ways to accomplish it

It was 2018 when the Rev. Wendy Hamilton, a 2022 candidate for D.C. delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, first learned about universal basic… Read more »

Behind the council vote to tax residents making more than $250K, and other budget amendments you might not have heard about

The D.C. Council debated several amendments to fiscal year 2022 budget legislation to include a measure to tax high-income earners at a higher rate to support a number of new initiatives, as well as a failed measure to allocate additional funds for hero’s pay — a financial incentive program for the city’s essential workers. The final votes are coming up in early August.

How DC’s new basic income program would work

The D.C. Council approved a historic tax increase on July 20 aimed at lifting residents out of poverty, but not everyone qualified is taking advantage of the existing resources it would be linked to.

Poverty in 2021 looks different than in 1964 – but the U.S. hasn’t changed how it measures who’s poor since LBJ began his war

In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson famously declared war on poverty. Up until this point, the U.S. had no official measure of poverty and therefore no statistics on its scope, shape or changing nature. Author and professor Mark Robert Rank discusses his book Confronting Poverty and how the approach that the government came up with in the 1960s is still its official measure of poverty, used to determine eligibility for hundreds of billions of dollars in federal aid.

‘DC’s richest residents pay lower taxes than everyone else,’ report finds

Ahead of debates over the mayor’s FY22 budget, a DCFPI analysis finds that D.C.’s 1% pays less in taxes than everyone but the lowest 20% of residents and argues that higher taxes on D.C.’s wealthiest residents are essential to addressing racial inequities in wealth and income.

Overloaded with landlords and real-estate developers, Bowser’s “Saving DC’s Rental Housing Market Strike Force” leaves out marginalized tenant voices

Tenant voices were conspicuously absent from the deliberation on recommendations that will affect the District’s most vulnerable renters’ ability to remain housed through the end of the pandemic and long after.

The Rich vs. The Poor

Mosley contemplates rich and poor individuals, and the dependent relationship one has on the other.

“The system is failing all the families that really need it”: How the threat of eviction has perpetuated health inequity and racial injustice during the pandemic

Worries about eviction during the pandemic disproportionately affect Black and Hispanic renters, widening the racial wealth gap.

500 DC families received $1,100 a week. Here’s how it helped them

THRIVE, a partnership between four local nonprofits, launched a basic income program in Ward 8. Participants report that the extra money has made an unimaginable difference in their financial situation.

Surviving the Beast System

Artist Joseph Walker on how he copes with the country’s economic system.

COVID-19 and crowded spaces: the not-so-easy start of virtual learning for homeless students

Teachers and local organizations are pushing for more support for homeless students so that they can successfully stay on track while taking classes.

Homeless or poor citizens may have trouble getting stimulus payments. Catholic Charities hopes to help

Since the CARES Act was passed, many Americans who filed tax returns have already received their economic stimulus payment. Catholic Charities DC is reaching out to those who may not have filed and think they’re ineligible.

Two proposed bills to mitigate housing discrimination may only duplicate existing protections

Two bills addressing housing discrimination received a hearing on Feb. 20. In response, critics voiced their concerns regarding the enforcement of this legislation and whether they are adequate enough to fully address this deep-rooted systemic issue.

Urban Institute: Helping families to weather financial crises helps the cities where they live

At a recent Urban Institute (UI) symposium examining “inclusive growth” by promoting “resident financial health,” attendees were reminded how far our society has come and how far it still has to go. 

Report maps out the experience of poverty based on the voices of those who have lived it

ATD Fourth World and Oxford University merged the insights of academics, practitioners, and activists to map out the experience of poverty in the US.

What is so complicated about homeless encampments in the District?

The subject of homeless encampments can be difficult to understand, and even more difficult to talk about. Homeless encampments affect not just the people who live in them but those who live around them. This article explores how this topic affects everyone.