The Crisis of Non-Replacement Undermining Black Neighborhoods
A new study shows a troubling reversal of fortunes in many middle-class Black neighborhoods. May 10, 2021, 6am PDT | Diana Ionescu |
A study by Center for Community Progress senior fellow Alan Mallach found alarming rates of decline in the economic growth of Black middle-class neighborhoods in six U.S. cities. As Alan Greenblatt reports in Governing, Mallach examined more than 300 neighborhoods – all with healthy median incomes in 2000 – and found that a large majority had slipped into poverty by 2018. Fortunes improved in only a handful of neighborhoods; gentrification was barely a factor. In nearly all the neighborhoods, homeownership was down, while vacancy and poverty rates were up.
The Biggest Issues to Watch in 2021 Alan Greenblatt, David Kidd, Carl Smith | January 19, 2021 | Analysis
State lawmakers face a terrible hangover of problems from 2020. First and foremost is the pandemic, which is at its worst even as vaccinations are rolled out across the country. Caseloads and death tolls are adding uncertainty to the economy, which in turn is hampering state budgets.
As legislatures began to meet this month, some convened virtually due to concerns about COVID-19, while capitols were boarded up or surrounded by perimeter fences and SWAT teams because of the ongoing threat of political violence.
Anger about the election and its bloody aftermath is leading to partisan divisions about how to handle voting. Democrats would like to see more mail voting and other expansive measures, while Republicans argue that even the suspicion of widespread voter fraud while shot down repeatedly in dozens of court cas
It Took Decades for America to Become This Divided [Governing]
Jan. 5 The outcome in Tuesday’s Senate runoffs in Georgia may end up being close, but voting among various subgroups won’t be. As was the case in November, there will be stark splits along racial, gender and geographic lines. College-educated residents of Atlanta and its major suburbs will vote in clear contrast to the results in rural areas.
By now, this is such a familiar scenario that it almost doesn’t seem worth commenting on. But these divides and the way they add up to near-even splits in some states and at the national level are the main driving forces of contemporary politics.
Absent Federal Aid, How Bad Are State Budgets? [Governing]
Dec. 22 Last week, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam revealed a two-year budget package that included no tax increases and substantial new spending. It would restore nearly half the nearly $3 billion in spending that Northam froze earlier this year, while increasing education spending by $500 million, mostly to help schools retrofit for the coronavirus pandemic. Northam’s budget even allows for more savings, devoting $650 million to Virginia’s rainy-day fund.
Most of the new spending is set for the second year of the proposed two-year budget. “By then, we hope most Virginians will be vaccinated, and our society and economy will have begun returning to more normal activities,” Northam said.