Pursuit of the Dream: Cars & Jobs in America

 

Low-income workers who are trying to reach self-sufficiency, stabilize their finances and move up the economic ladder must be able to connect to good jobs and meet family obligations. A car is often a necessity. However, common obstacles such as overpriced and unreliable cars, sub prime (high interest rate) loans, high down payments, hidden purchase costs, and the limitations caused by poor credit histories can prevent them from improving their lives through car ownership.

Pursuit of the Dream: Cars & Jobs in America, produced by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, explains the importance of affordable, reliable transportation for building the economic success of low-income families and their communities. The documentary features the stories of three real-life families who struggled with the pitfalls that low-wage workers often face when purchasing a car, and shows how they overcame them. Recommendations on how to avoid these pitfalls and tips for knowledgeable car purchase and ownership are provided in the documentary and in the printed discussion guide, included in each DVD case. The discussion guide also suggests ways to use the documentary with different audiences and includes resources for more information. The 22-minute documentary is provided in both English and Spanish versions.

How Wal-Mart Has Used Public Money in Your State

A secret behind Wal-Mart's rapid expansion in the United States has been its extensive use of public money. This includes more than $1.2 billion in tax breaks, free land, infrastructure assistance, low-cost financing and outright grants from state and local governments around the country. In addition, taxpayers indirectly subsidize the company by paying the healthcare costs of Wal-Mart employees who don't receive coverage on the job and instead turn to public programs such as Medicaid. This website brings together available information on both kinds of subsidies involved in Wal-Mart's "double-dipping." In the future we will add data on other ways Wal-Mart relies on taxpayers to finance its growth.

"Capital Access Index scores the ability of entrepreneurs to gain access to financial capital in countries around the world." Other indexes include: Best Performing Cities Index, State Technology & Science Index, Cost-of-Doing-Business Index (compares costs in different states). Site also has access to Milken Institute research papers and policy briefs which focus on how to "stimulate growth and create opportunity in lagging regions of the United States and global markets