Tag: income inequality

  • Stagnant Wages and Rising Rents Squeeze the Middle Class Out of Boston

    Boston, and Massachusetts overall, have been outpacing the country  on low unemployment numbers and providing housing for the poor, but a new report suggests that this growth is largely limited to the wealthy, and that upward mobility is on the decline. A new poverty report from the Boston Foundation’s research center titled “Boston’s Booming…But for…

  • Mass. Lawmakers Consider $15 Minimum Wage

    Cheers and jeers filled the State House on Tuesday, Sept. 19  as supporters and opponents alike packed the Garner Auditorium to voice their opinions on a bill proposing a $15 hourly minimum wage at a hearing held by the Joint Force Committee of Labor and Development. The current minimum wage in Massachusetts is $11 an…

  • Solving Dilemmas: Mel King, legendary activist and politician, talks fair housing in Boston

    Solving Dilemmas: Mel King, legendary activist and politician, talks fair housing in Boston

    Photo: Zengzheng Wang Mel King is one of the fiercest and certainly most experienced crusaders in the fight for affordable housing in Boston. Just three years ago, at the age of 85, he was arrested at an eviction protest. In addition to his decades-long career of activism, King boats stints as a state representative, an…

  • SCN teams up with Student Journalists

    SCN teams up with Student Journalists

    Back in 1992, the founders of Spare Change spoke earnestly of “Building a Bridge between the Haves and Have Nots.” This social justice newspaper was conceived of as more than an economic opportunity for vendors to have an alternative to panhandling for a living. The original purpose was to create a space for dialogue to…

  • Boston Listed as No. 1 City for Inequality

    Boston Listed as No. 1 City for Inequality

    The Brookings Institution recently released a study examining the increasing level of income inequality in cities and metro areas across the country, with Boston topping the list. Conducted by Alan Berube and Natalie Holmes, the study was released on Jan. 14. Alongside Boston, the study also ranked New York and San Francisco among the top…