Cash grants haven't increased significantly in nearly 30 years. Massachusetts needs to catch up.
Feb 13, 2020
The cost of living has risen exponentially over the past few decades, and MA is now one of the most expensive states to live in the country. But cash grants haven’t kept up. It's time for that to change.
Massachusetts’ monthly cash assistance grants (what some call “welfare”) are intended to meet a family’s basic needs. Yet while the cost of living in Massachusetts has greatly increased over the past few decades, cash grants haven’t been raised significantly in nearly 30 years.
Since 1988, grants have gone up only by a mere 10%. The cost to work and take care of a family, meanwhile, has grown exponentially.
In 1988, a 72-pack of infant diapers cost $9.80 on average. Today it costs $22.99 – a 135% increase. A 4-pack of toilet paper that cost 99 cents in 1988 now costs $3.49. A single ride on the T has increased by 300% – from 60 cents in 1988 to $2.40 today. A 24-count bottle of children’s pain relief tablets costs $4.18 today, a whopping 429% increase from 1988.
EMPath and fellow advocates in the Lift Our Kids Coalition gathered at the MA State House in early February to raise awareness for bills that would increase these grants (called Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children, or TAFDC). The bills would raise grants by 10% per year until they reach 50% of the federal poverty level ($905 per month for a family of three – considered the “deep poverty level”). Currently, the maximum grant for a family of three with no countable income is just $593 per month. This is well below the deep poverty level.
State Rep. Marjorie Decker and State Sen. Sal DiDomenico, lead sponsors of the bills, spoke at the February 4 event.
“The real shame should be on a society that allows [people] to not have enough money to meet basic needs,” Rep. Decker said. “Massachusetts can do this.”
Massachusetts ranks between the fourth and fifth most expensive places to live in the U.S. Adjusting for inflation, the discrepancy between the value of TAFDC grants and current costs means the grant buys only half of what it did in 1988.
The bills (on EMPath’s list of priority legislation, along with a corresponding budget item) were reported favorably by the Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities in November 2019. They are now ready for action by the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means.
“It’s our responsibility and duty to stand up for kids and families,” Rep. DiDomenico urged. “Let’s put words into action.”
TAKE ACTION: Contact your own legislators and ask them to urge the House Ways and Means and Senate Ways and Means Committees to move the bills forward.