Economic Justice
Our goal: Enable all people to participate in the region’s thriving economy and attain economic security
SPUR’s Five-Year Priorities:
• Develop and seed ideas that redress the fundamental inequity in the distribution of resources in our region.
• Grow and improve public support systems so that all people seamlessly receive the benefits they are eligible for and need to thrive in the Bay Area.
• Remove the financial burden placed on low-income families and people of color by making taxes, fees, and fines more equitable.
SPUR Report
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.
SPUR Report
Undue Burden
Sales taxes are a common revenue-raising tool, but they also play a role in reinforcing structural inequality. SPUR explores three options for creating a more equitable tax code.
SPUR Report
More Harm Than Good
California’s system of fines and fees is causing significant financial harm to low-income, Black, and Latinx communities in the Bay Area. California should eliminate its reliance on punitive fees and introduce more effective ways to promote behavior that supports safety and the greater social good.
SPUR Report
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.
SPUR Report
Economic Prosperity Strategy
The Bay Area has one of the strongest economies in the world, but the benefits are not universally shared. Over a third of the workforce earns less than $18 an hour. How can we make sure the region’s rising economic tide lifts all boats?
Updates and Events
SPUR Celebrates the MTC's Decision to Reduce Fines and Fees and Offers to Help Build an Equitable Tolling System
Policy LetterSPUR and a coalition of advocates, direct service providers, and local government agencies celebrate the Metropolitan Transportation Commission's (MTC) decision to reduce fines and fees from $70 to $20, and offer to help MTC do more to build an equitable tolling system.
Bridging the Gap
SPUR ReportThe Bay Area’s current system for collecting unpaid bridge tolls hurts hundreds of thousands of people across the region. This system disproportionately harms lower-income and working people by relying on punitive tools like fines, fees and car registration holds to promote toll payment. SPUR recommends steps to reduce the harms caused by the unpaid tolls system and begin to move toward an equitable tolling system.
SPUR Urges the MTC to Adopt Changes to Their Unpaid Toll and Notification System
Policy LetterSPUR and a coalition of advocates, direct service providers, and local government agencies urges the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) to adopt a variety of changes to their unpaid toll and notification system. The current system harms lower income and working people, putting hundreds of thousands of Bay Area residents into debt every year. These fines and fees disproportionately fall on communities of color across the region.
SPUR Announces Platform for Economic Justice Advocacy
News /The COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying recession have made economic justice advocacy more urgent than ever before. As the Bay Area looks to rebuild and reimagine its economy, federal, state and local governments are hungry for policy interventions that will help people become economically secure. SPUR is committed to helping shape the conversation. We are pleased to announce the adoption of SPUR’s Economic Justice Platform for Advocacy.
SPUR asks Congress to Fund Childcare as Part of Infrastructure Package
Policy LetterSPUR joined a broad coalition of Bay Area stakeholders, including the Cities of San Francisco and Oakland, the San Francisco Foundation, and the Unity Council, in sending joint letters to Senator Schumer, Senator McConnell, Congresswoman Pelosi, and Congressman McCarthy, asking them to include funding for increased access to child care in upcoming infrastructure legislation.
SPUR Urges Small Business Administration to Support Underserved Bay Area Small Businesses
Policy LetterSPUR, the City of Oakland, the City of San Jose, and others sent a letter to the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casilla Guzman to urge the SBA to award a Community Navigator Pilot Program grant to an applicant serving the Bay Area.