assessment, The State of Working Massachusetts 2011, shows that while Massachusetts has shared in this hardship, its economy is performing better than the rest of the country. What is more, our commitment to education has, over time, helped to make us one of the highest-income states in the nation.
On September 22, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual update of state-level data on household income from the American Community Survey (ACS). These data show that median household income in Massachusetts fell to $62,072 in 2010. This is a statistically significant decline of $3,182 or 4.9 percent from the 2009 level of $65,254 (adjusted to 2010 dollars). For the U.S. as a whole, the ACS data show median household income stood at $50,046 in 2010, a statistically significant decline of $1,144 or 2.2 percent from the 2009 level. Since 2007 (in the final month of which, the nation officially fell into recession), median household income in Massachusetts dropped an inflation-adjusted $3,307 or 5.1 percent. During the same period, U.S. median household income fell $3,280 or 6.2 percent.
The foundation budget established under the Education Reform Act of 1993 to calculate adequate baseline spending for the state's public school districts understates the costs of special education and health insurance by more than $2 billion, according to a new report from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.
Do Massachusetts’s schools have enough money to provide their students with a quality education? That’s the question that motivated Cutting Class. And what we found is that in many areas the answer seems to be no. Schools across the state are hiring fewer teachers, providing less professional development, and spending less on materials & technology than the state funding formula considers adequate.
On October 31 the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual update of State and Local Government Finances, providing national data for Fiscal Year 2009. The amount of state and local taxes paid in Massachusetts as a share of total personal income was 9.8 percent in FY 2009. By this measure, Massachusetts had lower taxes than 32 other states. Measuring taxes as a share of total personal income allows for a meaningful comparison among states.
Health insurance coverage in Massachusetts far surpasses coverage nationally and in all other states, detailed statistics released by the Census Bureau September 22 confirm.
Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual update of state-level poverty rates from the American Community Survey (ACS). In contrast to the Census’ Current Population Survey, for which data were released last week, this survey provides more reliable demographic information for individual states. It includes data on the rise in child poverty in the US and in Massachusetts.
Thanks to the apparent success of Massachusetts’s health reform, Census Bureau estimates released September 13 indicate that Massachusetts still leads the nation in health care coverage. The Massachusetts health insurance coverage rate is more than ten percentage points higher than the national rate.
New Census Bureau data released today show that the national poverty rate increased for the third year in a row in 2010, rising to 15.1 percent from 14.3 percent in 2009.
After a deep recession that officially began in December of 2007 and ended in June of 2009, the US economy is now in a period of weak and fragile recovery, one that features both slow growth and high levels of unemployment. For many Americans, the current recovery feels little different than the recession itself. This certainly holds true for the many Massachusetts families who have felt the direct effects of this historic downturn – Labor Day 2011 offers little cause for celebration among the Bay State’s thousands of unemployed and underemployed workers. By many measures, however, Massachusetts has fared far better than most other states during the Great Recession and its aftermath. We have experienced lower rates of unemployment, lost a smaller share of our jobs, and maintained higher median wages for many of our workers. This new report, Jobs and The Massachusetts Economy: Labor Day 2011, provides charts and analysis of the most current data for Massachusetts and the US on unemployment rates, job losses, and median wages. The report offers snapshots of how these measures have changed since the start of the Great Recession and over prior decades.