blog post Video: COVID in California—What Have We Learned about Ensuring an Equitable Recovery? By Vicki Hsieh Apr 6, 2022 Michael Tubbs, founder of End Poverty in California and former mayor of Stockton, talks with PPIC’s Lande Ajose about building an equitable, inclusive economy as we emerge from the pandemic.
blog post How Did California’s Economy Recover from COVID—and What Comes Next? By Sarah Bohn Mar 9, 2022 As part of PPIC’s blog series reflecting on two years of COVID-19 in California, we examine how the state’s labor market has bounced back from the economic downturn and explore key racial/ethnic and regional disparities.
blog post Most Californians Say Racial Bias Is Linked to Economic Inequality By Lauren Mora Nov 30, 2023 A strong majority of Californians say that racial and ethnic discrimination contributes to economic inequality, and those holding this view are more likely to support policies that help lower-income families.
Report Child Poverty and the Social Safety Net in California By Caroline Danielson, Sarah Bohn Sep 29, 2014 Because economic hardship is associated with a host of adverse outcomes, particularly for children, policies that can give children a better start in life are especially important. This report focuses on measuring material hardship among children across the state. Using the California Poverty Measure—which accounts for both family earnings and safety net resources and adjusts for work expenses and housing costs—we find that one-quarter of California’s children are in poverty. An additional 26 percent of children live in households that are "near poor,” or somewhat above what is often referred to as the poverty line. In short, about half of California’s children are poor or near-poor. Poverty rates, earnings, and the role of safety net resources all vary by region. But most poor children live in "working poor” families, with one or more working adults. And, without resources from the social safety net—which includes the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, CalFresh (California’s food stamp program), CalWORKs (California’s welfare program), and housing subsidies—there would be far more children in poverty throughout California.
blog post Starting the Year with Less (Real) Money By Sarah Bohn, Julien Lafortune Jan 21, 2022 Over the last two years combined, prices have increased more than 8%. The impact on family economic well-being is especially large for those at the lower end of the income spectrum.
blog post 1 in 4 Child Care Workers in California Lives in Poverty By Tess Thorman, Caroline Danielson, Sarah Bohn Oct 16, 2018 While demand for preschools and child care is high in California, the state's child care workers—particularly women of color—are poorly paid and almost twice as likely to live in poverty than workers overall.
blog post How Are Wage Gains and Government Programs Helping Families Confront Rising Prices? By Sarah Bohn, Julien Lafortune, Patricia Malagon Feb 3, 2022 Wage growth over the past two years along with direct government aid during the pandemic has helped many low-income Californians deal with higher prices.
blog post High Prices Causing Financial Hardships for Many Californians By Rachel Lawler Mar 29, 2022 Around one in three Californians report experiencing serious financial hardship due to rising consumer prices, while one in four residents say they are very concerned about paying their rent or mortgage.