More Income Protection Is Needed For The Middle Class In Massachusetts’s 2nd Suffolk District
The middle class is struggling in today’s society. The cost of living is increasing, housing is becoming unaffordable, and wages are stagnant due to the high cost of living. The middle class is an important demographic because they are the ones who shape the economy. They have disposable income, which means that they have the power to spend, but also have enough money to save. With this in mind, it is important for the government to protect this demographic from financial distress so they can continue to shape the economy and maintain their spending power.
In general, the middle class is getting squeezed with more and more people falling into poverty, while the wealthy are becoming wealthier. Middle-class Americans are feeling the pinch of rising costs of living, stagnant wages due to rising costs of living, paying higher taxes, and an increasing lack of job opportunities. To make matters worse, they are also facing a higher risk of job loss due to technological advances in many industries.
In particular, the 2nd Suffolk District needs more income protection for its middle- class residents. The district has a high rate of poverty and people who work in low-wage jobs are struggling with unaffordable housing, stagnant wages due to rising costs of living, on top of wage theft by employers, and job losses due to the ramifications of the Covid-19 epidemic, as well as job loss due to technological advances.
Affordable housing is a major problem. It’s not just a matter of being able to afford rent or mortgage payments, but also the cost of living, in general, which includes utilities. With the influx of wealthy foreigners that had come into low-to-middle income communities with money and bought up neighborhoods that then drove up prices for everyone else it became difficult for people with lower incomes and middle incomes to find affordable housing. The problem of affordable housing is a systematic issue because there are many different factors that contributed to the problem, and they all need to be resolved in order for there to be any progress made on this issue. However, a partial solution to this problem is to provide more affordable housing in our communities with government-funded affordable housing programs so foreigners with money cannot buy up our neighborhoods and continue the trend of gentrification.
With the rise of green jobs and clean energy, the middle class is getting squeezed here too. The problem is that there is not much retraining for people who lose their jobs to clean energy initiatives and are unable to find a new job at equal or higher pay to support themselves. A better safety net needs to be created for workers who may lose jobs through no fault of their own. The black middle class is especially at risk because they are more likely to be employed in industries that will be impacted by job losses. Additionally, the 2nd Suffolk District is one of many districts that are expected to experience job displacement from renewable energy. The economic and social impacts on these residents are felt most by black and brown residents who have been and will be disproportionately affected by these changes. The government needs to come up with solutions for the problem before it gets worse for the black middle class. We need mandatory implementation of policies for employers that will shift to renewable energy that they also provide worker retraining, job placement assistance, and severance pay in order to help workers over a longer period of time transition into new careers, including new minority programs for neighborhood-based professionals, business owners, and entrepreneurs.
For our 2nd Suffolk District residents, it is also important to be aware that Big Gig companies like Uber and Lyft have been working to circumvent the state’s unemployment insurance system, which is designed to protect workers and their families from the financial consequences of job loss. Big Gig is a term to describe the gig economy, where workers are not considered employees but contractors. In this economy, workers do not receive benefits like healthcare or social security. It has been documented that these companies have been misclassifying workers as independent contractors to avoid paying for taxes, benefits, and payroll taxes. It has also been documented that the Big Gig companies have been manipulating time sheets to make it appear as if workers are not working full-time hours.
Companies have been misclassifying workers as contractors to avoid paying for taxes, benefits, and payroll. This is called the “contractor loophole.” The contractor loophole has been around since the 1980s but has gained popularity among big gig companies like Uber and Lyft. The contractor loophole allows companies to pay contractors less than what they would pay an employee while still being considered an employer. Companies can also avoid having to provide health insurance or paid leave by classifying their workers as contractors instead of employees. This is a major issue because the U.S. tax code is based on the assumption that employees are covered by social security and unemployment benefits, which means companies have to pay for insurance and taxes for employees yet some are not because of the loophole.
As big gig companies have been misclassifying workers for decades to avoid paying for taxes, benefits, and payroll, thus committing wage theft, the people who are working these jobs are in a difficult position. They must work long hours just to make ends meet. This creates poverty for these workers because they do not have the opportunity to build up any savings and do not have spare time to invest in growth opportunities for themselves, thus sustaining unacceptable levels of economic disparity and poverty.
For our 2nd Suffolk District residents, if you are an employee of a big gig company, be aware when you get hired it might be a contract position with no benefits instead of an employee position. These companies should be held accountable for misclassifying their employees as contractors instead of hiring full-time employees and paying them benefits like they should be doing for sustainable living.
I will push for accountability and transparency on an outcome-oriented approach to how funds are prioritized and allocated for any such disadvantaged neighborhood-based programs.
James Grant
State Senate Candidate 2022 – Massachusetts’s 2nd Suffolk District