Increasing numbers of sheltered families have jobs while a growing population is caught in the gap between the wages they earn and the cost of housing. It’s a formula for rising homelessness.
Economics
Posted inEconomics
Canary in the corner booth: What restaurant closures reveal about the KC economy
Some legacy restaurants close ahead of World Cup opportunity while others report strong sales. Who can afford a night out reveals a split economy.
Posted inEconomics
Close to the bone: KC’s workers struggle with inflation amid affordability crisis
While workers produce more than ever, rising costs for food, housing, child care, and health care outpace wage growth, forcing Kansas City families into tough choices.
Posted inLabor
Kansas City cannabis dispensary workers win union to gain leverage in a growing industry
Takeaways:1. Workers at the Homestate Dispensary have voted to establish the first cannabis union in the area in the Kansas City market. 2. Homestate employees have complained about not receiving paid holidays and a lack of security in the workplace. They want better pay, job security, better health insurance and protections from wrongful termination. 3. This unionization […]
Posted inEconomics, State Government
Kansas taxpayers — not casinos — are underwriting ‘free’ sports bets that entice gamblers
Kansas taxpayers subsidize the millions of dollars nationwide sports gambling apps hand out to bettors for their initial wagers that get them in the habit of gambling. The new sports betting industry also makes hardly any revenue for the state, amounting to a small drop in the bucket of the state’s multi-billion dollar operating budget. […]
Posted inEconomics
The KC Homeless Union met with Mayor Q for four days straight. Here’s what they agreed on.
Kansas City’s unhoused communities at City Hall and Camp 6ixx in Westport feared a camp sweep. Now, unhoused people are steps closer to short-term shelter and even long-term housing.
Posted inEconomics
The Kansas city that pays remote workers to move there
For some midsize cities in the Midwest that have traditionally spent millions in tax incentives to attract businesses, the idea of directly paying remote workers to move there is emerging as a new economic development strategy.
Posted inEconomics
For Kansas City, a Chiefs Super Bowl win is good for business
To win another Super Bowl title this year — the third in franchise history and the seventh major league sports championship to be won by a Kansas City team in the last 10 years — would not only energize the city’s already passionate fan base, but the economy as well.
Posted inEconomics
How Missouri is using COVID-19 funds to tackle internet access
The funding, announced last July, was divided among an emergency broadband investment program, primary and higher education institutions, telehealth programs, and Missouri libraries.
Posted inEconomics
How Kansas directed COVID funds to expand broadband across the state
About 6% of the Kansas population lacks any wired broadband services at home, and internet access is particularly a problem in rural parts of the state. On the national level, about 14.5 million people living in rural parts of the U.S. lack access to broadband.