Poverty is often framed as a social issue—one that belongs primarily to service providers, charities and government agencies. However, in a state like Massachusetts, it is also an economic issue that shapes workforce participation and long-term competitiveness. It demands the sustained attention of nonprofit leaders, policymakers, philanthropy and business alike.
Across the country, more than 40 million people live below the federal poverty line, and millions more hover just above it—one unexpected expense away from a crisis. In Massachusetts, nearly one in 10 residents live in poverty, despite our standing as one of the wealthiest and most highly educated states in the nation. That contradiction should stop us in our tracks.
We are home to world-class universities, hospitals, research institutions, and industries that drive global innovation. We rank at or near the top in income, productivity and educational attainment. Yet too many of our families lack the stability required to fully participate in that prosperity. In a state that competes globally for talent and economic leadership, persistent poverty is not just troubling. It is unsustainable.
This moment requires action. After several years of relative stability in poverty rates, projections indicate poverty may rise again in 2026. The causes are familiar and compounding: changes and potential cuts to critical safety-net programs such as SNAP and Medicaid, persistent inflationary pressures, rising housing and childcare costs, and structural inequities that continue to threaten stability and shape access to opportunity.
When poverty rises, the consequences extend far beyond individual households. It strains public health systems, weakens educational outcomes, and reduces workforce participation—driving up long-term costs for taxpayers and slowing economic growth. Nonprofits and communities must do more with less, and foundations and policy makers feel pressure to fill immediate gaps, rather than make strategic investments. Businesses feel it as well—through workforce instability, higher turnover and a limited talent pipeline. Poverty, quite simply, makes Massachusetts less competitive.
Child poverty demands particular urgency—not only because of its moral weight, but because of its long-term economic consequences. Children who grow up in poverty are more likely to experience poor health, struggle academically and earn less as adults. Those outcomes translate into higher public costs and lower lifetime economic productivity. In a state that depends on a highly skilled workforce, allowing large numbers of children to grow up without stable housing, adequate nutrition, quality early education and supportive community systems is a self-inflicted economic wound.
We cannot lead the innovation economy while underinvesting in the next generation of entrepreneurs, workers and leaders. Reducing child poverty is about helping families today, and strengthening our communities and economy for decades to come.
Massachusetts’ high cost of living intensifies this challenge. High average wages mask a harsher reality: housing, childcare, energy and transportation costs erode purchasing power for all working families. As a result, many fully employed households still struggle to meet basic needs. Traditional economic indicators often fail to capture how many residents are being left behind.
As the leader of one of the nation’s largest nonprofit anti-poverty organizations, and someone who has lived this work for decades, I have watched the meaning of economic security change in real time. A generation ago, my family bought a home in Mattapan on a social worker’s salary — that income once offered a dependable path into the middle class. Today, it would not secure a mortgage, but instead qualify for subsidized housing. In just five years, the price of a modest home in one of Boston’s “affordable” neighborhoods rose nearly 80 percent. That shift tells a larger story that upward mobility is more uncertain, the middle class is harder to reach and economic stability is increasingly fragile. When essential workers cannot afford to live in the communities they serve, it weakens the economic foundation everywhere. Yet even with this urgency, I see real opportunity for change.
The encouraging news is that Massachusetts has already taken meaningful steps to chart the path forward. The Special Commission on Poverty in the Commonwealth recently outlined pragmatic, actionable recommendations designed to reduce inefficiency, prevent crisis and strengthen long-term mobility. Their proposals focus on improving access to essential supports, increasing stability, strengthening pathways to work and advancement, and better coordinating public systems. At their core, these recommendations recognize a simple truth I have seen throughout my career in nonprofit management: poverty cannot be reduced in silos. Poverty reduction requires coordinated action across all sectors of government, nonprofits, businesses, philanthropy and community. Alignment—across housing, education, health care and workforce systems is not optional – it is the manner in which states compete in the 21st century.
This is a moment for us, as nonprofit leaders, to continue pushing beyond crisis response and toward systems change; and for foundations to fund structural reform alongside innovation. Policymakers must treat anti-poverty policy as economic infrastructure. In addition, business leaders must recognize that wages, benefits, training and advocacy directly shape whether talent can thrive here.
Reducing poverty is a moral obligation. It is also an economic strategy rooted in competitiveness, productivity and resilience. We have the resources, the institutions and the expertise to ensure that Massachusetts remains a place where opportunity is real, mobility is possible and prosperity is broadly shared. What we need now is the collective will.
The question is not whether we can afford to address poverty. It is whether we can afford not to.