Economic Inequality

Despite a year of headlines about AI, immigrant communities, particularly seniors, have been outside the conversation, leaving them vulnerable to dangerous uses.

As predominantly Black and brown skaters pushed street skateboarding forward at San Francisco’s Justin Herman Plaza and the schoolyards of Los Angeles, they were progressing the form under a heightened state of police brutality and incarceration in California, author José Vadi details in a new book.

More than 1 million PG&E customers are behind on their utility bills as California lawmakers consider warring proposals to lower costs. After the state approved a series of rate hikes in recent months, will the company or utility regulators be held accountable?

For the past year, debate has raged over plans to impose new fixed charges on electric utility customers based on their incomes. The issue began with a 2022 budget "trailer bill," a process governors and legislators misuse to enact major policy changes without fully debating them.

As the minimum wage for fast food workers increases in California, many headlines are predicting mass layoffs and price increases. These headlines are based on an outdated theory that doesn't apply to fast food restaurants, argue two economists.

An LA partnership that is supposed to place 200 Black trainees in city jobs is falling short. One worker whose desk job offer was revoked was told to try sanitation.

A decade ago the state remade its school funding system to funnel more money to low-income students, English learners and foster youth.

A popular program that doubles CalFresh benefits at farmers markets is on the chopping block as California leaders try to close a yawning budget deficit. In a moment when so many Californians are food insecure, slashing the program would be devastating.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office says the state’s $16-an-hour minimum can’t dispel poverty or inequality, though it’s among the highest in the U.S.

In recent decades, the logistics industry has flourished in Southern California, but there's a backlash over the industry's low wages and the pollution it creates.