The aftershocks and long-term economic damage from COVID-19 will continue to impact regional employment growth and local labor markets for an extended time. In a recent analysis, Mark Muro and Yang You write that even amid optimistic forecasts and encouraging early signs, the complicated reality that some cities will be slower to recover than others remains the same.
With the country on track for mass vaccinations, the worst of COVID-19 may be over. But many of the underlining inequities essential workers face—including low wages, structural racism, and inadequate protections—remain. Molly Kinder and Laura Stateler lay out how federal, state, and local policymakers can give essential workers what they have always deserved: the dignity of a living wage, lifesaving protections, and power in their workplaces.
A new playbook by Hanna Love and Jennifer S. Vey, along with authors from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, provides concrete guidance for local leaders to implement a new, multidisciplinary approach to building wealth and opportunity while driving equitable regional economic growth.
How should local leaders use their American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding? For many cities and counties, ARP state and local funds are not just a $350 billion lifeline; they represent the largest positive fiscal jolt to their budgets in decades.Brad Whitehead and Joseph Parilla make the case for a three-pronged approach for how localities should use this help.
Amazon’s union battle in Bessemer, Alabama is about dignity, racial justice, and the future of the American worker. Black workers are overrepresented among the risky essential jobs on the COVID-19 frontlines, and especially among those that pay less than a living wage. While tax cuts and stimulus checks provide needed relief, what can truly change the system is worker power, Andre M. Perry, Molly Kinder, Laura Stateler, and Carl Romer write.
Michigan wants to increase residents’ college enrollment, but student debt is holding them back.Andre M. Perry and Anthony Barr examine existing programs and initiatives focused on debt relief or cancellation in the Detroit region that other cities can draw inspiration from.
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