economic inequality - CalMatters

Angela Reyes Melo, 56, waits outside her car before driving to pick up supplies at a food bank on October 28, 2022, in San Diego. Reyes has been living with her son in a loaned car for the past four months. Photo by David Maung for CalMatters

California Divide

Poverty drops in California but only because of child tax credit, COVID relief funds

by Wendy Fry November 7, 2022November 6, 2022

If you haven’t filed for a child tax credit, now’s the time to do it. A deadline approaches.

A shopper moves down an aisle in a grocery story in Los Angeles. Photo by Reed Saxon, AP Photo

California sends contradictory economic signals

by Emily Hoeven October 26, 2022October 26, 2022

Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters; iStock

California Divide

Agency battling wage theft in California is too short-staffed to do its job

by Alejandro Lazo, Jeanne Kuang and Julie Watts October 17, 2022October 15, 2022

Micaela Mota received a $277 subsidized childcare fee waiver from the state. With the waiver set to expire next year, she doesn't know how she'll make ends meet. Photo by Marissa Leshnov for CalMatters

Children and Youth

‘I’m already stressing out’: Families to face bigger bills for subsidized child care as California ends waivers

by Elizabeth Aguilera October 7, 2022October 7, 2022

A healthcare employee protests outside Centinela Hospital Medical Center, in Los Angeles on May 5, 2020. Photo by Lucy Nicholson, Reuters

Health care workers union is using ballot measures to remedy low wages amid a workforce shortage

by Ana B. Ibarra October 5, 2022October 10, 2022

Los Angeles resident Walter Forster attends a California Reparations Task Force meeting held at the California Science Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 23, 2022. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

California Divide

Reparations task force: State could owe Black Californians hundreds of thousands of dollars

by Lil Kalish September 26, 2022September 26, 2022

East Palo Alto needs to beef up housing policies that protect families from displacement

by Guest Commentary September 26, 2022September 25, 2022

Manuel Chavez, who is involved in a protracted wage theft case that has been appealed multiple times, stands for a portrait in Downey on Sept. 4, 2022. “I worked hard hours, and sometimes all night long,” Chavez said, in regards to working as a hotel employee. “The pay always seemed to come up short for the amount of work I did.” Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

California Divide

Wage theft whack-a-mole: California workers win judgments against bosses but still don’t get paid

by Jeanne Kuang and Alejandro Lazo September 15, 2022September 28, 2022

Diana McLaughlin in Citrus Heights, California, September 9, 2022. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters

Higher Education

California to give $2,500 training grant to workers who lost jobs during pandemic

by Mikhail Zinshteyn September 12, 2022September 9, 2022

Paid Family Leave isn’t an option for low-income families

by Guest Commentary September 7, 2022September 7, 2022