photo of people walking past a produce market

Economy

We believe: Prosperity is essential to a thriving region and should be planned for, supported, and shared so that all people can participate in and benefit from economic growth.

Our Goals

• Allocate resources to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged groups.

• Strengthen and expand the social safety net.

• Rebuild the middle class.

• Build effective and equitable fiscal policies.

Bay Area Market

ϴReport

Undue Burden

Sales taxes are a common revenue-raising tool, but they also play a role in reinforcing structural inequality. ϴexplores three options for creating a more equitable tax code.
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Homeless Camp

ϴReport

Mending the Net

Long before COVID-19, California had the highest poverty rate in the nation. The state is also one of the worst at getting benefits to those who need them. Streamlining the application process would help Californians receive the public support they have a right to.
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Ladders Out of Poverty

ϴReport

Ladders Out of Poverty

Thousands of Bay Area households struggle to pay their bills each month, a situation worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The region should look to the promise of unrestricted cash transfer programs, which give people money with no specific requirements on how it is spent.
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Updates and Events

ϴComments on the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan

Advocacy Letter
Now is the time to prepare a bold vision for the future that enables Oakland to grow into its role as a major regional center with significantly more employment, residents and visitors than today. This plan should be about how to shape that future in a way that achieves a downtown with significant benefits for everyone.

At Last, the Tide Turns on Downtown Oakland’s Office Market

News /
Downtown Oakland now has the tightest commercial market in the country, with a vacancy rate of 5.3 percent. As a result, commercial rents in downtown Oakland have shot up. After many years of construction costs stubbornly remaining higher than commercial rents, it has finally become financially feasible to build new office buildings downtown.

The Urgency to Achieve an Inclusive Economy in the Bay Area

Urbanist Article
The latest tech boom has stretched the Bay Area’s income inequality gap to its widest level in decades. Can we figure out how to ensure that this growth is created by, and benefits, all workers and families?
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