Envisioning Equity
Envisioning Equity is MassBudget’s emergent policy framework
designed to advance policy solutions to create an inclusive, thriving Commonwealth.
An antiracist
state budget
Economic security
for all
Inclusive
Democracy
Tax justice =
Racial Justice
How Do We Get There?
Fully fund the Student Opportunity Act to provide urgently needed funding to under resourced schools as the Legislature committed to in 2019
Provide high-quality, tuition-free and debt-free options for public higher education
Make buses fare-free across the Commonwealth
Increase state support to households at risk of being evicted or foreclosed on and to small landlords.
Ensure that federal funds are distributed equitably across the Commonwealth.
Create learning environments where all students, particularly students of color, are respected and feel safe.
Ensure that wealthy individuals pay their fair share by passing the Fair Share Amendment to invest in improving transportation and education
Stop tax cuts that would decrease equity in our tax code and in the public good.
Extend and Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), including to those who file income taxes with an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) because they lack a social security number.
Provide direct cash payments to those who need them, regardless of immigration status.
Improve unemployment assistance, ensuring that the program is more equitable and financially secure.
Enabling all drivers, regardless of immigration status, to obtain state driver’s licenses.
Collaborate with partners doing direct voter education and member engagement to align our efforts and center data in our to create a stronger infrastructure for change and collective advocacy.
We have important work to do:
Our state and local tax system remains “upside-down”.
The highest-income households in Massachusetts, those in the top 1 percent, pay a smaller percent of their income in state and local taxes than all other income groups.
Early education and care are critical, but unaffordable for too many.
Massachusetts ranked last among the 50 states in the affordability of infant care, with costs reaching nearly $21,000 per year. At this price, infant care consumes over 80% of a minimum wage salary.
Student debt is crushing our younger generation.
Decades of state disinvestment in public higher education has shifted the cost burden to students and families, especially harming low-income and students of color.
Massachusetts is in a housing crisis.
Someone earning a minimum wage must work 105 hours per week to afford a 2-bedroom apartment at Fair Market Rent. And, because of the legacy of historically racist housing policies, Black and Latinx families are even less likely to have access to affordable, stable housing.
