Stagnant wages, ballooning rental costs and the shrinking supply of affordable housing are heaping an ever-growing burden on low-income families. " Out of Reach ," a new study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, found minimum-wage workers can no longer afford an average one-bedroom apartment in any state in America. Since 2009, the federal baseline wage has remained stagnant, but...
A new survey is shining a harsh spotlight on the urgent need for non-predatory financial services in the South. A recent Gallup poll found minority-owned businesses face tougher challenges obtaining loans. The study, commissioned by Wells Fargo, found that 77 percent of black business owners use their own personal cash to finance their businesses, and 47 percent of black-owned businesses are...
This week, a coalition of immigration, faith, labor, business and community groups are holding rallies across the country, circulating online petitions and flooding social media sites with what they’re calling a “digital battle.” They’re marking the day millions of undocumented parents of American citizens or legal permanent residents hoped to begin applying for temporary deportation relief...
There is so much more to Mother’s Day than flowers and chocolates. The modern-day celebration of motherhood traces its roots to a 19 th -century women’s disarmament movement. Today, women are joining forces to tackle a wide array of issues, including growing economic disparity. Poverty among women is at historic levels, significantly higher than those for men. The numbers are even higher for...
Every spring, Earth Day breathes new life into dormant conversations about the need to protect the environment without sacrificing employment. For regions with deep connections to the land, that requires a complete overhaul of the way they’ve long done business. But parts of the South are enthusiastically rising to the challenge, investing in ambitious plans to create diverse, sustainable...
