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Walsh And De Blasio Lead Mayors Combatting Economic Inequality
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Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was in New York City Monday for the first meeting of a task force on income inequality recently formed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Walsh is vice chairman of that task force, and a big focus of his administration is the dramatic wage gap between Boston's well-off residents and its financially struggling ones.
As the gathering took place, a new national report was released concluding that the rich-poor income gap will to continue to widen and that cities can't solve the problem with a "wait-and-see attitude." But mayors can advocate for a solution, the report's authors said.
In the words of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio: "Mayors are on the front lines, and we must act."
WBUR's Sacha Pfeiffer speaks to Mayor Walsh about his trip to New York.
Guests
Martin J. Walsh, mayor of Boston. He tweets @marty_walsh.
Jim Diffley IHS Global Insight economist.
Darlene Lombos, executive director of Community Labor United.
More
The New York Times: Task Force Of Mayors Addresses Income Gap
- "Mayor Bill de Blasio and about 40 of his peers will release a report on Monday showing that the income gap between the wealthiest Americans and middle and low-income households continues to widen — a trend with no signs of slowing down without policies to shrink the disparity."
The Boston Globe: Wage Gap Rising, But Less So In Boston
- "Across the country, the rich keep getting richer while middle- and low-income households fall further behind. But in Boston, the growing income divide has not been as severe as in other cities, according to a report released Monday."
WBUR: Report Shines New Light On Boston’s Inequality
- "Boston is one of four U.S. cities where the income of the richest households is at least 15 times the earnings of the poorest 20 percent, a Brookings Institution report finds."
This article was originally published on August 12, 2014.
This segment aired on August 12, 2014.
