Content categorized as Income Inequality

“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. 

Fourth annual local news blitz on homelessness

For the fourth consecutive year, at least seven local newsrooms are joining us in a collaborative effort to investigate what is working and what is not working to reduce and prevent homelessness in our communities across the District.

DC landlord sued for refusing housing vouchers

A lawsuit against several real estate companies claims discrimination against tenants with housing vouchers.

Metro Transit Police target Black youth for fare evasion, report says

The Washington Lawyers Committee recently released a report showing racial disparities in fare evasion enforcement by the Metro Transit Police.

Don’t repeal a fair wage for D.C. workers

A tipped restaurant worker discusses why she supports Initiative 77 and why you should too.

Traveling exhibit visualizes redlining and systemic inequality

“Undesign the Redline” is an interactive look at how the effects of discriminatory selling practices present in the 1930s housing market still affect low-income neighborhoods today. The Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND) featured the exhibit as the centerpiece of its annual meeting and housing expo this year and in its downtown D.C. office throughout June.

A City Council Candidate On Homelessness 

David Schwartzman, the DC Statehood Green Party candidate for D.C. Council At-Large, writes about D.C. human rights violations.

Wage theft

A look at wage injustices

Ahead of the “State of the District” address, residents held their own forum on ending displacement

On March 15, Mayor Muriel Bowser delivered her fourth State of the District Address at UDC. Hour beforehand, community organizers held a “The People’s State of D.C.” rally outside of the university.

Open your big mouth!

On March 12, ten years after the financial crisis, I again joined the Fed Up Campaign (the “green shirts,” as they have been named by the government bureaucrats), along with members from Spaces D.C., to march on Wall Street.

Discrepancy in City’s Median Income

Funding for housing programs is based on the area median income as determined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The District is at a disadvantage because HUD defines the AMI to include all of the D.C. Metro Region, which means more affluent parts of Maryland and  Virginia affect the data.

Fighting Back for the Little People

Gary Minter offers his take on how federal tax code could be re-written to benefit the “little people”.