The Insight Center has developed a portfolio of initiatives designed to foster the development of more equitable asset building policies, increase the economic security of low-income people, and help make women-and minority-owned businesses more competitive. Read more at http://www.insightcced.org/programs/assets.html share the wealth: Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Tweet about it
Across the state of Mississippi, families are working hard, but fail to make ends meet. Low-wage work and the absence of assets exacerbate an exceedingly tough environment or working families. Assets,in particular, play a huge role in determining which families avert financial disaster during an emergency and which families move forward through home ownership, entrepreneurship …Read the rest and add a comment. >>
The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) Programs offer free tax help for taxpayers who qualify. Read more at http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Free-Tax-Return-Preparation-for-You-by-Volunteers share the wealth: Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Tweet about it
Poverty is a major problem confronting the South, and particularly Mississippi, where about 1 out of every 5 persons lives in poverty (see Table 1). The percentage in poverty is even higher, if a self-sufficiency standard is used to set the income level below which a household is considered to live in poverty. (For a …Read the rest and add a comment. >>
The 1:1 Fund promotes educational opportunity for low-income students by raising matched funds for children’s savings incentive programs that encourage saving and build assets. Last week, when I was in Jackson, Mississippi, visiting one of the 1:1 Fund’s local children’s savings partner programs, the power of these initiatives became overwhelmingly evident to me. Read more …Read the rest and add a comment. >>
It’s no surprise that the typical approach to paying off debt focuses on, well, the debts themselves — their interest rates, what order to pay them in, etc — and often on ways to make extra money or reduce expenses. But getting out of debt (and staying out of debt) is really about changing behavior. …Read the rest and add a comment. >>
The New Year brings this good news/bad news story: Workers of color will disproportionately benefit from minimum-wage increases in 10 states – because they are disproportionately employed in low-paid jobs. Workers of color represent about one-quarter of the workforce in the 10 states that saw minimum-wage increases on January 1, but nearly half of the …Read the rest and add a comment. >>
Low-wage work and the absence of assets, in particular, play a huge role in determining which families avert financial disaster during an emergency and which families move forward through homeownership, education and entrepreneurship. MEPC in partnership with the Foundation for the Mid South, has released a report that overviews asset levels and certain barriers within …Read the rest and add a comment. >>
Speaker of the House Philip Gunn is hitting the road this fall to visit towns around Mississippi in an effort to create an idea-sharing forum for all Mississippians. Speaker Gunn will be making various stops around the state during the week of October 8, 2012. Mississippi Solutions–an Ideas Tour is a non-partisan town hall style …Read the rest and add a comment. >>