* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Holton
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
Title
Report of 2007 Job Opportunities Task Force - Overpriced and Underserved: How the Market is Failing Low-Wage Baltimoreans
FOR the purpose of requesting the Executive Director and Members of the Job Opportunities Task Force to share with the City Council and the citizens of Baltimore the findings of the Job Opportunities Task Force regarding the "poverty premium" payed by low-wage Baltimoreans for a wide range of goods and services that prevents them from participating equally in the City's economic and social rebirth.
Body
Recitals
Overpriced and Underserved: How the Market is Failing Low-wage Baltimoreans, part of a national study commissioned by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and completed by the Brookings Institute, found that low-wage Baltimore residents pay more than higher income residents for services and goods, including groceries, cars, financial transactions, and home mortgages. The market charges consumers an added "poverty premium" for being poor, making it even more difficult for them to meet their basic needs, save money, or pay for education, home ownership, or retirement.
The poverty premium is paid by tens of thousands of area residents and can total as much as $3,000 in additional costs each year. The report analyzed the costs of a variety of goods and services to low-wage earners compared to the cos...
Click here for full text