Jobs & The Economy
ALL JOBS & THE ECONOMY REPORTS
Economic Projections for Asylum Seekers and New Immigrants: Massachusetts
How can we expect new immigrants to fare in the economy? To model this question, the Immigration Research Initiative and MassBudget looked at how immigrants with similar characteristics currently make ends meet in the state.
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How Baby Bonds Could Reduce Massachusetts’ Growing Wealth Gap
Across Massachusetts, racial wealth gaps are among the widest in the country. Structural barriers prevent or challenge households of color from building assets that could lead to wealth equity. Baby Bonds can be a powerful way to reduce these disparities.
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Testimony in Opposition to H.1848 on Reclassifying Rideshare Drivers
MassBudget's written testimony submitted in opposition to H1848, An Act establishing rights and obligations of transportation network drivers and transportation network companies.
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Testimony in Support of Raising the Minimum Wage
MassBudget's Policy Director Phineas Baxandall urges the Joint Committee on Labor & Workforce Development to pass a bill to increase the minimum wage out of committee. The bill under discussion would raise the wages of almost 1 million workers.
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New Census Data Highlights Need for Family Tax Credits Waiting in State House
While the Massachusetts Legislature debates two versions of expanded tax credits to improve affordability for families, new census data dramatically show what a difference these credits make to reduce poverty, especially for children.
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How Many Massachusetts Low-Wage Workers Would be Helped by a Higher Minimum Wage?
What would be the impact if the wage floor was lifted to $20 an hour with a tipped wage increase to $12 an hour? How many people would receive a raise, what are the characteristics of these workers, and how large would their raises be?
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Debunking the Five Major Myths About Outmigration
Recently, multiple news articles, op-eds, and think tank reports have asserted that Massachusetts is suffering an exodus of households, particularly high-income households, fleeing to states with lower taxes. These claims about income migration are both overblown and based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the available data.
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Testimony to support employment of formerly incarcerated individuals and people on transitional assistance in microbusinesses
Policy Director Phineas Baxandall delivers testimony in support for H.2811, “An Act to establish the micro business employee training and workforce development program."
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Massachusetts Cash Assistance – A MassBudget Data Droplet
The cash assistance program was created to be a reliable back-up for the lowest-income families; today the program reaches only a small share of families in need. Cash assistance (Transitional Assistance for Families with Dependent Children or TAFDC) provides a small monthly cash grant to families with children or to pregnant people only if they have little or no income. The amount of this grant is not enough to provide economic stability or help a family get back on its feet during hard times. Nor can this grant come even close to covering the costs of rent, diapers, school supplies, ...
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At a Crossroads Created by COVID: Executive Summary
At a Crossroads Created by COVID: Families Moving Along the Road to Opportunity in Massachusetts Executive Summary Read the full report here. PART 1: THE PROMISED DESTINATION. We may have promised the children of Massachusetts that they can arrive at a bright tomorrow full of opportunity, but we have allowed many obstacles to get in the way of that promise for too many of our children. On top of that, these past two years have created new obstacles, and have also put Massachusetts at an important crossroads. The twin health and economic emergencies of the pandemic and subsequent downturn have ...
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At a Crossroads Created by COVID: Families Moving Along the Road to Opportunity in Massachusetts
We may have promised the children of Massachusetts that they can arrive at a bright tomorrow full of opportunity, but we have allowed many obstacles to get in the way of that promise for too many of our children. On top of that, these past two years have created new obstacles, and have also put Massachusetts at an important crossroads. The twin health and economic emergencies of the pandemic and subsequent downturn have made long-standing racial and economic inequities worse.
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Testimony to expand the Earned Income Tax Credits for low-income households
To the Joint Committee on Revenue December 13, 2021 RE: Testimony in support of An Act to increase family stabilization through the earned income tax credit (H.2871/S.1841) and An act providing a minimum income to all Massachusetts families (S.1852). Chairman Hinds, Chairman Cusack, and distinguished members of the Joint Committee on Revenue: Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony on behalf of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (“MassBudget”), in support of H.2871/S.1841: An Act to increase family stabilization through the earned income tax credit. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, or “MassBudget,” is a public policy think tank ...
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The Fair Share Amendment Helps Small Businesses: Public Investment, S-Corporations, and Million-Dollar Incomes in MA
All businesses in the Commonwealth depend on investment in public programs and infrastructure that ensure a well-educated workforce and reliable, far-reaching transportation networks. These public systems may be especially important for smaller businesses, which can’t create their own distribution networks, shuttle services, training programs and childcare centers. In November 2022, Massachusetts will vote on the Fair Share Amendment, a ballot question that would generate over $2 billion each year to support education and transportation in the Commonwealth.1 It provides these resources through an additional 4 percent tax on the portion of personal income exceeding $1 million per year. The Fair ...
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Three Progressive Tax Policies to Help Small Businesses in Massachusetts
Our Commonwealth celebrates small businesses as a way for ordinary working people to build wealth and pursue a productive life more independent from the large corporations that dominate our economy and society. Proposals for corporate tax cuts often claim their aim is to help small businesses, even when most of the benefit would go to large corporations. For instance, after decades of paying contribution rates to the Commonwealth’s unemployment trust fund that were below federal standards, many big business groups have lobbied to use public funds to relieve this debt in the name of “helping small business.” Many small businesses, ...
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Testimony in Opposition to H.1234, “An Act Establishing Portable Benefit Accounts for App-Based Drivers”
October 6, 2021 Chairman Murphy, Chairman Crighton, and distinguished members of the Joint Committee on Financial Services: Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this important matter. I write in opposition to House Bill 1234. As Attorney General Attorney General Maura Healey has maintained, a company like Uber or Lyft assigns tasks to their workers via cell phone app should not excuse them from providing the full benefits and protections due under Massachusetts Wage and Hours Laws, including those granted by the Wage Act, Minimum Wage Law, Overtime Law, Earned Sick Time Law, and Anti-Retaliation Statutes. The bill in ...
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Testimony to the Joint Ways and Means Committees on Using Federal ARPA Funds to Follow Other States in Extending EITC Benefits to ITIN Filers
October 1, 2021 Chairman Rodrigues, Chairman Michlewitz, and distinguished members of the Joint Committee on Ways and Means: Thank you for the opportunity to testify on plans for using the nearly $5 billion in unassigned federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for Massachusetts. I am a Senior Analyst at the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a think tank providing research and analysis for policy solutions in the Commonwealth, with a focus on improving the lives of middle and low income people and communities of color. I am testifying to urge you to use federal funds to follow the lead ...
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