Dear John,

It’s time to say, “See ya, summer” and usher in a fabulous fall. Much like this month may bring back-to-school activities or cozy pumpkin potluck gatherings, Prosperity Now has kicked off the season with some fantastic collaborations with you, our Community! First, it was wonderful to connect members of the Taxpayer Opportunity Network, at VITACon 2023 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, earlier this month. As someone who has worked with families in various capacities, it was wonderful to see sessions that get at the human side of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program and really explore what it means to enter the lives of families in such a personal way at tax time.  

Last week also marked the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month. This is an opportunity for us to celebrate the many contributions made by the Hispanic and Latine community nationwide, while also shedding light on the economic barriers the community endures as they seek to create financial security and build wealth for generations to come. Hispanic women only earn 58 cents to the dollar when compared to White men– the lowest relative wages of any other demographic group considered in our recently released brief. The gender wage gap perpetuates the racial wealth divide and so our fight for a fair and just economy for all must include Latine women and all women of color.   

Additionally, this September puts us just one year out from the 2024 Prosperity Summit! In 2022, many of you joined us in Atlanta, GA to reimagine economic justice, and we hope that you’re saving the date for 2024 to join us and thousands of changemakers in Washington D.C. working to ensure our economy works for everyone. 

In Solidarity,  

Mapping the Wage Gap for Latine Women 

“Hispanic women consistently earn the lowest relative wages in the United States.” 

At the national level, Hispanic women earn 58 cents to the dollar when compared to White men– the lowest relative wages of any other demographic group considered in our brief. The relative wages of Hispanic women range from a high of 68 cents in states like Maine, to a low in states like California, where Hispanic women earn as little as 44 cents to the dollar. While some states in the northern half of the U.S. offer marginally greater rates of compensation, low relative wages for Hispanic women are consistent across the United States. Our brief reveals that reaching a just economy for women will include both lowering the wage volatility for women of all groups and shrinking the size of the wage gap for all women. 

The IRS is Taking Key Steps Toward a More Equitable Tax Code 📝

In recent positive news, the IRS announced they will reduce audits for taxpayers who claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit, a benefit largely claimed by low-income households. This change will also allow the IRS to focus its efforts on those who are not paying their fair share, including large corporations! Our Associate Director of Policy, Joanna Ain, says: "The need to focus tax audits on the wealthy and corporations and high-end tax evasion rather than households with low incomes and households of color is critical to putting forward a fair and equitable tax code." 

Move Over Hot Labor Summer, It's Time for Fair Wage Fall 🍂 

This past Labor Day definitely “hit different” as the wave of union activity continued with the highly publicized WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. We are currently witnessing ultra-wealthy individuals leading ultra-wealthy corporations push their employees into houselessness all because they refuse to pay them a livable wage. Studio executives are making hundreds of millions of dollars while 87% of SAG-AFTRA members do not make the roughly $26,000 needed to qualify for health insurance. The cards are stacked against workers and unions, but there are policies that can help. 

Prosperity Now is a proud endorser of the PRO Act as a crucial step towards restoring workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively, ensuring that new unions can successfully negotiate a first collective bargaining agreement and holding employers accountable when they violate workers’ rights. 

Guaranteed Income is Making Moves at the State and Local Level 

As states and municipalities continue to navigate the onslaught of economic insecurity with inflation and cost of living steadily on the rise, it has paved the way for the implementation of more pilot programs that test innovative policy solutions. One policy solution that has risen to the forefront is guaranteed income, which is a policy providing recurring, unrestricted and unconditional cash payments to individuals. With many programs being driven by additional local funding, newly emerging cities and counties joined the list of over 100 guaranteed income pilot programs available, and we saw states begin more introduction of guaranteed income legislation in 2023. 

Hot Off the Press 🔥

• Multicultural Classroom: Baby Bonds - Creating Community Capital to Dismantle Wealth Disparities, Alejandra Montoya-Boyer and Abigail Golden-Vasquez, Prosperity Now 
• NerdWallet: Using an Individual Development Account to Buy a Car, Laura Yepez, Prosperity Now
• Smerconish: Want All Babies to Have a Fair Start in Life? Give Them Baby Bonds, Shira Markoff, Prosperity Now

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