When our relationships are safe and healthy, so are our communities. This California-focused policy paper discusses approaches to ending intimate partner violence and includes policy recommendations that focus on healing, gender justice, and racial equity — instead of punishment — to build safe and accountable communities.

Intimate partner violence is a frightening reality for millions of Californians and a public health crisis that especially affects Black, Native American, and bisexual women and transgender people. For decades, women in the anti-violence movement have led the critical work of meeting the immediate safety needs of survivors — saving countless lives. As we build on these efforts to end partner violence, we must do more to address the root causes of violence and the need for healing for all — including those who have caused harm. Read the policy paper and the summary, and join the campaign, funded with the generous support of Blue Shield of California Foundation. 

Regional economies play an important role in shaping opportunities and outcomes for low-income residents and people of color. Broad trends in the U.S. economy—such as the decline of traditional manufacturing, the growth of high-tech industries, and the rapid expansion of low-wage service jobs—occur unevenly across the nation’s largest metro areas. To better understand the implications of these trends for advancing regional equity and shared prosperity, this report presents a typology that classifies the 150 largest U.S. regions based on (1) the growth of advanced industries; (2) the decline of manufacturing jobs; and (3) the quality of service-sector jobs that generally do not require a BA degree. Understanding the connections between these factors can help local leaders identify and develop tailored strategies to grow good jobs, create accessible career pathways for people of color, nurture equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems, and improve job quality for all workers. Download the report, methodology, and summary.

To illustrate how these interrelated dynamics manifest at the local level, the report is accompanied by three case studies of diverse metropolitan areas representing different regional types: Charlotte, North Carolina metro; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania metro; and Stockton, California metro.

Regional economies play an important role in shaping opportunities and outcomes for low-income residents and people of color. Broad trends in the U.S. economy—such as the decline of traditional manufacturing, the growth of high-tech industries, and the rapid expansion of low-wage service jobs—occur unevenly across the nation’s largest metro areas. To better understand the implications of these trends for advancing regional equity and shared prosperity, this report presents a typology that classifies the 150 largest U.S. regions based on (1) the growth of advanced industries; (2) the decline of manufacturing jobs; and (3) the quality of service-sector jobs that generally do not require a BA degree. Understanding the connections between these factors can help local leaders identify and develop tailored strategies to grow good jobs, create accessible career pathways for people of color, nurture equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems, and improve job quality for all workers. Download the report, methodology, and summary.

To illustrate how these interrelated dynamics manifest at the local level, the report is accompanied by three case studies of diverse metropolitan areas representing different regional types: Charlotte, North Carolina metro; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania metro; and Stockton, California metro.
 

Regional economies play an important role in shaping opportunities and outcomes for low-income residents and people of color. Broad trends in the U.S. economy—such as the decline of traditional manufacturing, the growth of high-tech industries, and the rapid expansion of low-wage service jobs—occur unevenly across the nation’s largest metro areas. To better understand the implications of these trends for advancing regional equity and shared prosperity, this report presents a typology that classifies the 150 largest U.S. regions based on (1) the growth of advanced industries; (2) the decline of manufacturing jobs; and (3) the quality of service-sector jobs that generally do not require a BA degree. Understanding the connections between these factors can help local leaders identify and develop tailored strategies to grow good jobs, create accessible career pathways for people of color, nurture equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems, and improve job quality for all workers. Download the report, methodology, and summary.

To illustrate how these interrelated dynamics manifest at the local level, the report is accompanied by three case studies of diverse metropolitan areas representing different regional types: Charlotte, North Carolina metro; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania metro; and Stockton, California metro.
 

Regional economies play an important role in shaping opportunities and outcomes for low-income residents and people of color. Broad trends in the U.S. economy—such as the decline of traditional manufacturing, the growth of high-tech industries, and the rapid expansion of low-wage service jobs—occur unevenly across the nation’s largest metro areas. To better understand the implications of these trends for advancing regional equity and shared prosperity, this report presents a typology that classifies the 150 largest U.S. regions based on (1) the growth of advanced industries; (2) the decline of manufacturing jobs; and (3) the quality of service-sector jobs that generally do not require a BA degree. Understanding the connections between these factors can help local leaders identify and develop tailored strategies to grow good jobs, create accessible career pathways for people of color, nurture equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems, and improve job quality for all workers. Download the report, methodology, and summary.

To illustrate how these interrelated dynamics manifest at the local level, the report is accompanied by three case studies of diverse metropolitan areas representing different regional types: Charlotte, North Carolina metro; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania metro; and Stockton, California metro.
 

In recent years a national discussion has been underway about the causes and effects of growing inequality, but one cause that has received little attention is the role of the U.S. tax code. The individual tax code contains more than $1 trillion in tax subsidies known to policymakers and economists as tax expenditures because, like spending programs, they provide financial assistance to support specific activities or groups of people. Of these subsidies, more than half a trillion, $540 billion, support some form of savings or investment (e.g., higher education, retirement, homeownership).

In theory, tax code–based public subsidies should help all families save and invest, but instead, wealthier households receive most of the benefits. In fact, a recent analysis of the largest wealth- building tax subsidies found that the top 1 percent of households received more benefits from these tax code–based subsidies than the bottom 80 percent combined.

The new brief answers key questions about tax expenditures: What are they, how do they work, and who benefits? In addition, since the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not collect tax data by race, the primer uses data related to the distribution of benefits by income quintiles and the demographics of each quintile to provide a rough approximation of how different racial and ethnic groups do or do not benefit from the different categories of tax expenditures.

Houston-Galveston is characterized by overall economic strength and resilience, but wide racial gaps in income, health, and opportunity coupled with declining wages, a shrinking middle class, and rising inequality place the region’s economic success and future at risk. Our analysis showed the region already stands to gain a great deal from addressing racial inequities. If racial gaps in income had been closed in 2012, the regional economy would have been $243.3 billion stronger: a 54 percent increase. You can also download the summary and addendum.

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This report explores and provides examples of how key changes to components of the financial, education, justice, health, and tax systems can strengthen—rather than undermine—households’ financial security, and increase economic inclusion.

It describes innovative approaches that integrate a focus on building financial security across programs, while reforming the systems that most affect the balance sheets of lower-income families and families of color. The featured approaches run the gamut from small local programs to state and federal policy reforms and initiatives. These innovations and the changes that they represent to key systems may be adapted and expanded to strengthen the financial security of vulnerable people and communities nationwide.

With a median household income of $110,292, Fairfax County, Virginia is one of the wealthiest counties in the nation—but not all residents share in this economic prosperity. As its population has grown and diversified over the past 25 years, inequities in income and opportunity by race and geography have also increased. Given that communities of color are expected to increase from 45 to 72 percent of the population by 2040, taking concrete steps to create pathways for the communities being left behind to connect to education and good jobs is critical for the county’s economic future. This study was produced in partnership with the County and other local leaders to support their efforts to build a stronger and more equitable county. Download the profile.

 

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