Rich vs. Poor
There is a disconnect between the economically viable Baltimore region and the low-wage workforce that continues to grow as the chasm between rich and poor continues to widen.
This report takes a hard and somewhat unique look at the disconnect between Baltimore beating the recession odds yet having its low-wage workforce expand. By citing findings from both empirical analyses and dozens of interviews, it make the case that efforts to increase economic opportunity must be rooted in efforts to create a more opportunity-rich regional economy and to help low-income residents connect to it.
Creating a better opportunity structure requires a different approach, one focused on investing in the region’s next economy and building a workforce that both drives and benefits from its growth. Greater Baltimore’s public, private and nonprofit leaders must be far more visionary, far more coordinated and far more strategic about growing industries in which good-wage jobs are the norm rather than the exception.