Income Equality

How can I help?

Boost Incomes; Shrink Income Inequality:

Getting more income to people should be a long-term solution, not just an emergency measure to help address the Covid-19 crisis in the short-term. People need more income. Our economy and governmental systems are failing many communities, particularly Black, Indigenous, and communities of color.

Many people are out of work, facing unemployment or underemployment. Many are not justly compensated for the work they do -- something that has been highlighted during COVID-19; many people on the front lines receive too little for the critical work they do. While wages must be adequate and minimum wage jobs do not provide enough income to support a family, increasing wages is only part of the solution. We must ensure that people have adequate income when and if they are not able to earn adequate income in the traditional labor market; they should not suffer as a result. The system for obtaining public assistance is stressful, dehumanizing, and time-consuming. It is also condescending and built on racist and ableist ideas and stereotypes.

Now is the time for a guaranteed income program at the federal level that boosts income for people so that nobody is living in poverty. When people are assured a minimum cash income that they may spend without restriction, they are able to pull themselves out of poverty and create economic stability for themselves and their families. We all deserve to be the authors of our own lives – our destiny should not be determined by our race, gender, disability, or class. Instead of dictating how, where, and on what terms individuals can build their lives, income payments that do not come with restrictions on how they can be spent or requirements about what people need to do to receive them offer dignity, trust, and self-determination.

Increasing peoples’ income is one of the most direct and effective ways to provide financial stability to those who need it. It is time to provide additional income to all people residing in Maine who need it. We must target racial and economic inequities, including the “wealth gap,” to address disparities in assets and net worth. Support provided should factor in peoples’ circumstances and where they are situated within existing power structures. The amount of income provided should be targeted and based on the level of need to provide the most income to people with the most need. Income support should be available to all people residing in Maine who need it including Mainers who are immigrants who have been unable to access the safety net or the covid-response stimulus payments. The program should be easily accessible and people should not have to jump through onerous hoops to access it.

Ultimately we need a federal solution to provide people with a guaranteed income, but there are also positive steps Maine can take to increase income for Mainers that move toward this shared vision. Boosting income for Maine people will help lift people out of poverty, shrink racial disparities and economic inequality that harms all of us, and work to stabilize our economy. While we need systemic change in many areas to move toward a more equitable Maine, getting more income to people who need it is a key part of the change that is needed.