AltWeeklies Wire
Can Kickstarter Stick Around?new
Is crowd funding destined to hit critical mass and implode, or will the crowdsourcing model enter and sustain itself within the larger cultural dialogue?
N.C. Gov.'s Budget Balancing: So far, Not So Badnew
Gov. Bev Perdue's austerity budget proposal, unveiled last week, earned an overall thumbs-up from the N.C. Justice Center, the progressive think tank in Raleigh that monitors such matters.
Lincoln's Banking Crisis and Obama'snew
The parallels between Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln are many, but is there anything in the Lincoln lore to help Obama cope with the raging financial crisis and global economic meltdown he's facing as he takes office? Absolutely there is.
Dean Baker: No Blank Check for Wall Streetnew
Done properly, Baker says, the $700 billion "bailout" of Wall Street and the big banks shouldn’t cost the taxpayers a dime. "My view," the progressive economist told the Indy following a speech in Raleigh, "is that [the bailout] is necessary, but if it's structured right, we're not giving the banks anything. We're keeping the banks functioning, and that's in the public interest."
Could You Survive on the New Minimum Wage?new
How a single parent with two children in the Triangle could survive -- or not -- on the bare minimum.
Stung by a Middlemannew
"They make it sound like all these people [in foreclosure] are in over their heads," Wilma Vaughn says, "but they're in over their heads because these companies put them in over their heads."
Tags: Economic Issues
Buyer Bewarenew
Unsuspecting borrowers are often suckered into unfavorable loans with promises of low monthly payments or interest rates. Here are several terms that signal you could be entering a bad deal.
Tags: Economic Issues
Anatomy of a Foreclosurenew
Besides the borrower, there are four entities involved in loan-making: lenders, brokers, investors and servicing companies.
Corporate Incentives: Down the Slippery Slopenew
North Carolina's delusional economic development policy headed for the rubber room recently, as the legislature and Gov. Mike Easley clashed, then compromised, over a bill to give Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. up to $40 million to keep its Fayetteville plant open and stay in the state.
Tags: Economic Issues
Tax Refund Loans Target the Poornew
Refund Anticipation Loans are the latest wrinkle in predatory lending -- you get your tax refund when you file, and you only pay interest of 100-700 percent.
Dreams Deferrednew
A Durham jobs program is failing -- and so are the people it's meant to help.
Tags: Economic Issues
Rip-off Americanew
Payday lending was supposed to have been outlawed in North Carolina. So why are its storefronts still around, collecting $1,254 in fees on a $255 loan?
In the Shadow of the U.S. Opennew
Just a chip shot away from the site of the U.S. Open in Pinehurst, N.C., are neglected African-American neighborhoods with no city water, sewer or trash collection. Activists hope to grab some of the golf tournament's spotlight to get local leaders to address the problem.
