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The Biden Administration will cancel $10,000 worth of student loan debt for individuals making less than $125,000 per year and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients, the president announced at the White House on August 24. The administration’s student loan debt relief program also caps monthly payments for undergraduate student loans at 5 percent of monthly income. The relief comes as student loan payments have been frozen since March 2020 due to the pandemic—a freeze that the president has extended until the end of 2022. The 45 million student loan borrowers in the United States collectively hold $1.7 trillion in debt. This figure skyrocketed over the course of the 2010s as college tuition spiked. For many borrowers who dropped ...

A classic rule of thumb used to define a recession is that the economy is in recession when it experiences two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. The U.S. economy met this definition in the first half of 2022, contracting 1.6% in the first quarter and 0.9% in the second. While every recession that has hit the United States in the last century saw a significant increase in unemployment, job growth has been exceptionally strong this year. Jon Hilsenrath of the Wall Street Journal used the expression “jobful downturn” to refer to the current environment. The unusual situation raises the question: how will the impacts of a potential “jobful” recession differ from previous downturns?

Despite the ubiquity of grocery and meal delivery apps, broadband, digital literacy, and high cost remain barriers to food access for many communities. Widespread food insecurity continues to plague communities across the United States. In 2020, 38.3 million people lacked sufficient access to healthy food, a disproportionate number of whom identify as people of color, fall below the poverty line, and/or live in rural areas. During the same time, the pandemic and e-commerce transformed the food landscape with a proliferation of web- and app-based delivery services that redefine the meaning of food access. Since one can now purchase fresh produce, prepared meals, and other essentials without visiting a brick-and-mortar grocery store, ...

As we emerge from the pandemic, cities are entering a period of deep economic uncertainty and adjustment. Over the past two years, low-income neighborhoods have experienced disproportionate health impacts, disparities in small business aid distribution, and inadequate schooling and digital access for students. Unless major structural changes are made at all levels of government and across sectors, we run the risk of a lost decade in which racial wealth disparities are greater and neighborhoods are worse off.

Greater Seattle has experienced unprecedented and continuous economic gains since the 1990s. Global companies like Microsoft have risen to prominence and further diversified the regional economy from a historical reliance on Boeing and aerospace. Legendary companies such as Alaska Airlines, Amazon, Costco, and Starbucks have also come to call Greater Seattle home. Before the pandemic, the region ranked number one in annual GDP growth among large U.S. metropolitan areas. The Brookings Institute referred to Greater Seattle as one of five superstar regions and a top innovation hub. But like many fast-growing economies, the economic headlines hid challenges across the region. Shortage of good jobs A 3 percent unemployment rate pre-Covid ...

Call for EDO applicants IEDC is pleased to announce the launch of the Equity in Economic Development Fellowship Program. IEDC invites economic development organizations to apply for this new 10-week program to host fellows between May and August of 2022. Applications will open on December 1, 2021, and close December 31, 2021. See the complete Call For Applicants. Background The Equity in Economic Development Fellowship Program is part of IEDC’s ongoing commitment to advance equity and close disparities in the field. The fellowship will provide 6 to 12 young people of color the opportunity to gain hands-on economic development experience by spending the summer working with an EDO to advance substantive and impactful projects in ...

IEDC’s Racism and Economic Development (RED) Committee is seeking five communities to participate in the first Equity Communities cohort and receive technical assistance to promote equitable practices and standards. Participating communities will work with IEDC and subject matter experts for one year to create individualized Equity Action Plans based on local needs and challenges. Technical assistance and facilitation will occur onsite and virtually and include multiple “touch points'' over the span of the project. Additionally, communities will engage in peer activities to share experiences and best practices, and become members of IEDC’s RED Committee. We are seeking a diverse group of communities to participate. ...

Leaders in the innovation and technology space are stepping up to tackle staggering disparities for BIPOC and low-income communities by increasing the number of regional technology hubs, including current proposals in Congress to implement large-scale federal R&D funding for Midwestern and Southern metro centers. A recent Brookings webinar titled Leveraging Regional Tech Hubs to Advance Racial Equity discussed additional solutions to these disparities such as upscaling BIPOC talent and targeting companies to invest in their location’s talent base. From 2005 to 2017, five metro areas—Boston, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and San Diego—contributed more than 90 percent of the U.S. innovation sector’s growth. ...