CHELSEA CITY MANAGER Tom Ambrosino started handing out cash to residents last year as a way to address hunger in his community, but now he thinks the program’s initial success indicates it’s time for the state and national governments to step up and take over. The Chelsea Eats program was borne of frustration in the […]
poverty
Posted inOpinion
Mass. should build on fed antipoverty programs
MASSACHUSETTS IS ONE of the richest states in the country, yet has a poverty rate higher than 24 other states, according to data released from the US Census Bureau. Over the past 13 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how poverty can have disparate effects on public health, making it clear that the fight against […]
Posted inOpinion
Minimum guaranteed income = solution to poverty
IN THE WEEKS leading up to his assassination in 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. launched a new chapter of his work, referred to as the “Poor People’s Campaign.” This campaign illuminated the relationship between racism and economic injustice and advanced a vision of eliminating poverty for Americans of all races. This work sought synergies […]
Posted inThe Download
Poverty politics
For those who drive into downtown Boston for the workday – which is a commuting challenge even under normal conditions – the ride home Monday evening made most of them late for dinner. Which was kind of the point. Protesters, ranging from students to union workers to retirees, took over the streets around Post Office Square on […]
Posted inEconomy
Income up, poverty and inequality down
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE WITH THE STATE moving toward major decisions over wages, income taxation and health care spending, new data published by the US Census Bureau Thursday shows Massachusetts to be a state with declining poverty and rising incomes that rank among the highest in the country. An estimated 65,474 fewer residents of Massachusetts […]
Posted inEconomy, Education, Opinion
Helping low-income families out of poverty
BUILDING A PATHWAY that leads out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency requires hard work, resilience and persistence. However, low-income families will do all it takes to reach economic independence if given the means. To create that opportunity, service providers, philanthropy, and government must come together as partners to create the necessary supports needed to […]