1/4th of poverty in MA is caused by high housing costs. 5th worst in the country
About 25% of the poverty rate in MA is due to high housing costs. This headwind is the 5th worst of any state in the country.
TLDR: BUILD MORE HOUSING. The Supply impulse is larger and more durable than any other intervention.
- In Hawaii, California, D.C., New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado, Maryland, Connecticut, New York, and New Hampshire, 16% to 34% of poverty is attributable to above-average housing costs.
- High housing costs are offsetting some of the anti-poverty effects of measures such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food assistance to low-income households.
- Removing regulatory barriers to housing increases supply and lowers rents.
- In the states examined in this analysis, a drop of approximately 20% in inflation-adjusted rents—as happened in Austin, Texas, and Minneapolis after those cities made reforms—could reduce poverty by 18% to 26% and child poverty by 21% to 38%.
u/Consistent_Escape538 — 13 days ago