Social Equity in the Trump Era

• Author: Grant E. Rissler,Joan E. Pynes
• DOI: 10.1177/0160323X17720267
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• Date: 01 March 2017
• Subject Matter: Governance Matters

Governance Matters

Social Equity in the Trump Era:

What Can Local Public

Administrators Do to Improve

Social Equity for Their Residents

and Community in the Face of

Federal Cuts?

Joan E. Pynes

1

and Grant E. Rissler

2

Editor’s Note: With sadness and condolences we share with the readership of the journal that

Joan Ellen Pynes (1957-2017) passed away on July 6, 2017 after a courageous battle with pancreatic

cancer and just days before publication of this article. State and Local Government Review is honored

to have published her last academic article on a subject matter that was close to her heart and strong

academic values. She will be missed by her colleagues at the University of South Florida and this

journal for her support as a reviewer and contributor.

Abstract

While not yet certain, Trump administration proposals to cut federal programs, including support

for low-income housing, economic development in distressed rural communities, and workforce

training programs, significantly threatens resources that local administrators have depended on to

pursue greater social equity. As with the “new normal” following the Great Recession, adminis-

trators will be asked to innovate complex structural changes, including searching for new ways to

generate needed revenues. These areas have both profound social equity implications and yet have

received less attention from public administration researchers concerned with social equity. By

necessity, if not by choice, local public administrators will be at the leading edge of innovation in

these areas. By sharing ideas and innovations, administrators can support each other and advance

our collective understanding of best practices in guiding structural change and financial equity

administration. Most importantly, administrators can partner with their communities to defend,

maintain, and expand social equity and social justice gains.

Keywords

social equity, structural change, budget cuts, legal financial obligations

1

University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

2

L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Grant E. Rissler, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University,

Box 842028, Richmond, VA 23284, USA.

Email: risslerge@vcu.edu

State and Local GovernmentReview

2017, Vol. 49(1) 48-59

ªThe Author(s) 2017

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DOI: 10.1177/0160323X17720267

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