At the University of Washington, 5 master's students of Public Health and Urban Planning realize that a major upstream indicator that has much impact on our health and our communities is that of Income Equity. Income Equity is one of the 16 community-identified sustainability goals on B-Sustainable. The goal is: To increase income equity by ensuring the fair and impartial distribution of income and access to economic resources regardless of economic or social status. However, recent trends in income distribution, living wage and housing affordability indicate that income equity in King County is GETTING WORSE- meaning that the gap between the wealthiest and the poor is getting wider. This has many implications for everyone.
The group will be doing some more in-depth research based off of the Communities Count report (next one coming in December) and then organizing action. Keep checking back to find out what the group is doing.
Additional Sources:
Economic Opportunity Institute
Extreme Inequality
Inequality
Economic Policy Institute
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Washington Tax Fairness Coalition
King County Equity and Social Justice Initiative
Population Health Forum
United for a Fair Economy
Responsible Wealth
Presentation by Linn Gould, about income inequity and sustainability
University of Texas Inequality Project, with many studies and data about income inequity
Article in NY Times that includes King County as one of the counties with the biggest income gap
Take Back Your Time
Check out this article by Harvard Magazine, which describes how income inequity can lead to lower health outcomes for everyone- even those at the top.
ReplyDeletehttp://harvardmagazine.com/2008/07/unequal-america.html