Wages, incomes, and overcoming obstacles to economic opportunity
MassBudget Information. Participation. Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center Democracy. May 9, 2018 Obstacles on the Road to Opportunity: Finding a Way Forward Effective programs that help families make ends meet - like the Earned Income Tax Credit, SNAP, school lunches, and Social Security - cut the number of Massachusetts residents living in poverty by almost half. Such programs also cut the number of children living in poverty by more than half, according to a relatively new measure developed by the Census Bureau. The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center's new report, Obstacles on the Road to Opportunity: Finding a Way Forward , finds that while effective public programs can help remove obstacles along the road to opportunity, good jobs play a central role in paving that road. While incomes of high-income households have grown considerably over the past several deca...