Jul 20, 2007
Overpriced & Underserved: How the Market is Failing Low-Wage Baltimoreans
This report finds that low-wage consumers pay more than their wealthier neighbors for everything from automobiles to zucchini. Each year, they spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars more on everyday goods and services.
Rather than saving for retirement, investing in education, or working towards a down payment on a home or car, low-wage families are forced to spend a significant portion of their income meeting basic needs for which wealthier families are shown to pay considerably less.
In the report, JOTF identifies promising practices to help reduce the “poverty premium” and presents a seven-piece action agenda to make the market work better for local families.
