Category: Economy

African Americans
Stefi Mar

Predatory Auto Lending Exploits Black Consumers

Nearly 92 percent of American households rely on a personal vehicle to manage their daily lives.  Consumers shopping for a vehicle in May learned that the average cost of a new car was $49,307, and that used cars averaged $25,918, according to Cox Automotive.

Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

Gov. Newsom Signs New Affordable Housing Legislation

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed new legislation aimed at expanding affordable housing, reducing construction costs and speeding up housing development across California as part of the state’s 2026-27 budget.

Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

From Blueprint to Breakthrough: Tackling Affordable Housing in New York City

Finding an affordable place to live continues to be a challenge for many as widespread housing shortages persist across the U.S. Rising home prices and high interest rates have made homeownership inaccessible for a large portion of the population. Meanwhile, as rental demand increases, the number of renters facing affordability challenges is also growing.

Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

Your Home is an Investment: How to Create Generational Wealth

For most Americans, owning a home has long been considered a cornerstone to building and preserving generational wealth. A home purchase often symbolizes more than just securing a place to live – homeownership can help anchor families, support long-term financial stability and fuel local economic growth.

Bakersfield
Stefi Mar

California Birth Rate Falls Below “Replacement Level”

California’s birth rate has fallen to its lowest level on record, dropping well below the threshold needed to maintain population growth and signaling a major demographic shift that could reshape the state’s economy, schools, workforce and political influence in the decades ahead.

African Americans
Stefi Mar

Opinion: Our Urban Hospitals Are at Risk. Billionaire Tax Cuts Are to Blame

As a frontline healthcare worker, I know what happens when hospitals are stretched too thin: people wait for hours in crowded emergency rooms, nurses try to care for too many patients at once, families delay treatment because they’re afraid of the bill. In many Black and working-class neighborhoods, this isn’t a temporary crisis, it’s a daily reality, and without intervention, it’s about to get much, much worse. 

African Americans
Stefi Mar

COMMENTARY: Professors Reflect on Black Progress, and What the Next Decade Demands

Where do Black communities in Minnesota and across the country stand today, and where are they headed? The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder reached out to prominent Black academics to get their assessment. Looking back across the last several decades and forward to the next ten years, their responses were sobering, nuanced, and at times hopeful.