The Chicago Resilient Family Initiative
WHEREAS, many working people and families struggle to make rent, pay their mortgage, basic utilities, student loans, and childcare and nearly 25% of the full-time workers rely on public assistance to make ends meet; and
WHEREAS, the impacts of income inequality and 40 years of wage stagnation have stunted the economic progress of an entire spectrum of working people from the working poor to the upper middle class; and
WHEREAS, 69% of Americans don't even have $1000 in the bank for an emergency; and
WHEREAS, according to a recent Pew Research Study, after the recession of 2008, 40% of Americans viewed themselves as being at the bottom of the economic pyramid; and
WHEREAS, many individuals in Chicago and across the nation work full-time jobs and multiple side hustles in the gig economy and still cannot make ends meet; and
WHEREAS, to combat these issues and make up for lack of action at the state and federal level, the City of Chicago has increased the city's minimum wage to $13/hr by 2019, mandated earned sick time, and piloted a program to modernize the Earned Income Tax Credit by advancing tax return funds quarterly; and
WHEREAS, to build on these issues and continue to make up for inaction from Springfield and Washington DC, the City of Chicago must begin to address the 'Future of Work' and grapple with the rapid pace of technological innovation and automation; and
WHEREAS, while over the last four decades, the automation of jobs, off-shoring, and the passage of trade deals hurt small towns and big cities; and
WHEREAS, the biggest threat to the all working people and families in the near and long term is the automation of entire job categories - from trucking, to supply chain and logistics, to retail and hospitality, and the medicine and law; and
WHEREAS, automation will likely play a bigger role in job losses in the years to come; and
WHEREAS, major companies like Uber, Amazon, and others are investing billions in autono...
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