Previously, we discussed a new report we released along with The Commonwealth Institute and the DC Fiscal Policy Institute that finds that while the economy of the national capital region is growing, wealthier residents are benefiting more than middle- and lower-income people.. Today, we will explore how education, race and geography affect the economic fortunes of Maryland, DC, and Virginia residents. Not All Parts of the National Capital Region Benefit Equally from a Growing Economy While overall the national capital region is more prosperous than much of the rest of the U.S., a look below the surface reveals a more complex story, with pockets of economic stagnation and poverty dotting the map. For instance, median household income is up in the District of Columbia since 2007, but it is down in the surrounding areas, especially Calvert County. High average income levels in some parts of the region mask wide economic…

While Maryland and its economy certainly benefit from being part of the national capital region, the greater DC area’s prosperity is not broadly shared. Most of the benefits of the region’s economic growth have flowed to upper-income earners, with others seeing little progress or even decline. The growing inequality is detailed in a new region-wide report – Bursting the Bubble – which we published today along with the Commonwealth Institute, based in Virginia, and the DC Fiscal Policy Institute. Written in the same vein as our annual State of Working Maryland report, Bursting the Bubble uses census data to look at how different groups and localities are faring economically in the national capital region, which includes Maryland’s Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties.  On the surface, it is easy to find promising trends in the region’s economy. The unemployment rate, for example,  is lower than in the rest…

Washington County schools are leading the way in becoming hunger-free by adopting a new tool, community eligibility, that allows high-poverty schools to serve breakfast and lunch to all students free of charge. Unfortunately, many eligible schools in Maryland have yet to follow Washington County’s lead. But since the Agriculture Department has extended the deadline for schools to adopt community eligibility to August 31, there’s still hope that more will join.  Established by Congress in 2010, community eligibility allows high-poverty schools to eliminate school meal applications for individual students and offer breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge. Any school where 40 percent or more of students automatically qualify for free meals is able to participate. Unfortunately, while 374 schools in Maryland could be participating, only 13 are currently doing so. Only one school in Baltimore is participating, even though the Baltimore City district could provide meals for all…

Maryland has been a leader in efforts to fight climate change and has the opportunity to continue to develop a sustainable, innovative economy as it pursues new goals for cutting carbon pollution announced by the Obama administration last week. The proposed regulations seek to cut carbon emissions from the nation’s power plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. Each state has its own target, and Maryland must reduce its emissions by 36.5 percent. But states can chart their own path to achieving these goals, and Maryland is ahead of the pack. Through its Greenhouse Gas Reduction and StateStat programs, Maryland already has its own state-level goals to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020. So far, the state has cut total greenhouse emissions by 8 percent since 2006.  Source: Maryland StateStat Since President Obama’s proposed regulations make 2005 the benchmark for carbon emission reduction, Maryland’s…

As students graduate from colleges and universities across Maryland, many are entering the next phase of their lives saddled with big debts, incurred to finance their education. Like most other states, Maryland has cut the amount of money it invests in higher education, forcing up tuition and fees paid by students and their families, forcing them to borrow more. While college is a valuable investment – Americans with bachelor’s degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a degree – there are at least five reasons why student debt is a big problem. Student debt is increasing and has eclipsed most other forms of debt. Students graduating this year will owe an average of $26,500 in student loans. In total, Americans owe over $1.2 trillion in student loans, which surpasses all other forms of debt except for mortgages.  Maryland has the highest levels of…

Maryland has made some impressive headway recently on health care reform, something that should not be overlooked after initial technical glitches with its rollout.    The combined total of new enrollees in Medicaid and private coverage exceeded initial expectations, according to updated statistics released by Maryland Health Connection (MHC), the state’s new insurance marketplace, or exchange. In addition, a sizable portion of those enrolling in private insurance were young adults, whose participation is important since they are likely to be healthier and help keep insurance costs low. MHC reported that 32.3 percent of enrollees were under age 34, and over half were under 45.  Enrollees also appear to be healthier than expected, according to a new study by Health Affairs, a leading health policy journal. This complements a recent Congressional Budget Office report that, nationwide, Medicaid expansion is expected to cost about a third less than originally thought. All told, 343,000…

Working Marylanders with the lowest earnings will pay slightly less of their income in taxes — 9.9 percent compared to 10.1 percent now – once the expansion of the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit is fully phased in, according to a new study. That’s a small change, and the top 1 percent of income earners in Maryland will still pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes than everyone else. Nonetheless, it is a move in the right direction that will make it a little easier for low-income working families to make ends meet. The General Assembly’s recent decision to expand Maryland’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) was an important victory for workers in the state (previously). The EITC helps families get by more easily on  low-wage work  by offsetting some of the taxes they pay (like sales and payroll taxes) and boosting their income.  A new study from…

Last week, the Maryland Center on Economic Policy participated in a screening of the documentary “American Winter,” an evocative film that captures the nature of poverty in contemporary America. Along with our friends at Fuel Fund of Maryland, Maryland 211, and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, we participated in a panel discussion and audience Q&A about the issues raised by the film. While much of the film’s power comes from its stories of real families struggling in the economy, both the film and the conversation that followed raised four important issues about poverty in America. 1) The economy is volatile, and many families are barely hanging on.  The phrase “I never expected this to happen to me” was common among the families whose experiences were chronicled by “American Winter.” Many of these families had plans for the future that were disrupted by sudden, unfortunate events, such as being…

While anti-tax groups like to draw on diffuse arguments that Maryland’s state and local tax levels are driving people out of the state, the evidence says otherwise.  Recently, Center Maryland posted an article citing a recent Gallup poll finding that, compared with other states, Maryland residents express a high desire to move. The article also highlights that Maryland residents cite taxes as their reason for wanting to leave at a rate “higher than the national average.” [Update: The Annapolis Capital and the Gazette have also published similar articles.] But unlike the headlines, the actual evidence says  taxes play but a negligible  role in anyone’s decision to leave a particular state. Center Maryland’s article also draws on data and analysis from the website How Money Walks and the Tax Foundation to argue that Maryland is losing billions in wealth to other states. But this data is represented in a way that…

374 high-poverty schools in Maryland are eligible to use a powerful new tool, known as community eligibility, to increase the number of children eating school meals and reduce paperwork by providing school meals to all students free of charge. However, only six of these schools currently take advantage of Community Eligibility.  The Community Eligibility Provision allows high-poverty schools to eliminate school meal applications and offer breakfast and lunch to all of their students at no charge. Schools qualify for the Community Eligibility if 40 percent or more of their students are able to receive free or reduced lunches without having to apply because they have been identified as eligible by another program, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly the Food Stamp program). Community Eligibility helps ensure that low-income children, whose families often are struggling to put food on the table, have access to healthy meals at school. In Maryland,…