1. Act
Local.
Get
Vocal.
Make
a
Difference.
PA
Economic
Inequality
Action
Team
Summary:
The
People’s
Alliance
Economic
Inequality
work
group
advocates
for
policies
that
ensure
that
all
Durham
residents
have
access
to
high-­‐quality
jobs
that
pay
a
living
wage
with
benefits,
and
the
opportunity
to
acquire
and
make
use
of
productive
assets.
In
addition,
we
advocate
for
progressive
tax
policies
that
ensure
that
businesses
and
residents
pay
their
fair
share
to
support
adequate
public
services.
Contact
Information:
Carl
Rist,
rist@frontier.com
www.durhampa.org
Context
Overall,
Durham
has
a
healthy
and
growing
economy.
Durham
and
the
region
around
it
have
the
lowest
unemployment
in
the
state
and
the
highest
wages.
Yet,
this
healthy
economy
is
not
benefiting
everyone.
Durham’s
poverty
rate
(18%)
is
higher
than
the
statewide
average
and
almost
a
quarter
of
all
Census
tracts
in
Durham
County
are
designated
as
“high
poverty.”
The
top
20%
of
wage
earners
in
Durham
receive
more
than
half
of
the
total
income
in
Durham
County.
At
the
same
time,
almost
half
of
all
households
of
color
in
Durham
lack
a
minimum
threshold
of
financial
assets
needed
for
financial
security.
2014
Priorities:
To
promote
more
widely
shared
prosperity,
we
urge
our
elected
officials
to
act
on
these
policy
priorities
for
2014:
1. Ensure
that
all
who
seek
employment
have
access
to
good
jobs
that
pay
living
wages.
In
particular:
• Support
a
community-­‐wide
living
wage
certification
program
to
recognize
employers
that
pay
all
employees
a
living
wage.
• Expand
the
current
living
wage
ordinances
(city,
county,
and
DPS)
to
include
paid
sick
leave.
• Make
paying
a
living
wage
an
optional
criteria
for
City
and
County
public
contracts
• Pass
a
resolution
(City
Council
and
Board
of
County
Commissioners)
in
support
of
raising
the
federal
hourly
minimum
wage
to
$10.10
and
lobby
NC's
Congressional
delegation
for
passage.
• Consider
following
the
example
of
Asheville
by
refusing
to
accept
HB
74
and
passing
a
city-­‐wide
living
wage
ordinance
2. Leverage
public
investments
in
economic
development
to
promote
living
wage
employment
and
greater
transparency.
In
particular:
• Add
a
wage/benefits
criterion
as
a
base
factor
for
determining
appropriation
of
Durham
County
jobs
and
capital
incentives
• Add
a
requirement
that
all
recipients
of
capital
and
jobs
incentives
from
Durham
County
complete
a
Workforce
Development
Plan.
• Require
Durham
County
to
produce
an
annual
report
on
incentives
broken
out
by
jobs
and
capital
incentives,
including
long-­‐term
liability
of
existing
incentive
deals

2. Act
Local.
Get
Vocal.
Make
a
Difference.
PA
Economic
Inequality
Action
Team
Summary:
The
People’s
Alliance
Economic
Inequality
work
group
advocates
for
policies
that
ensure
that
all
Durham
residents
have
access
to
high-­‐quality
jobs
that
pay
a
living
wage
with
benefits,
and
the
opportunity
to
acquire
and
make
use
of
productive
assets.
In
addition,
we
advocate
for
progressive
tax
policies
that
ensure
that
businesses
and
residents
pay
their
fair
share
to
support
adequate
public
services.
Contact
Information:
Carl
Rist,
rist@frontier.com
www.durhampa.org
3. Expand
access
to
free
tax
preparation
to
allow
more
families
to
claim
the
Earned
Income
Tax
Credit
(EITC).
In
particular:
• Provide
a
minimum
of
$5,000
in
City
funding
to
Reinvestment
Partners
to
replace
two
workforce
development
staff
that
are
no
longer
able
to
assist
the
Volunteer
Income
Tax
Assistance
(VITA)
program.
• Increase
funding
from
the
County
to
support
the
VITA
program
from
$5,000
to
$10,000
annually.
4. Ensure
local
public
services
are
paid
for
adequately
by
fair
and
progressive
taxes.
In
particular:
• Replace
new
solid
waste
fee
with
property
tax
revenue
• Publicize
(City
Council,
Board
of
County
Commissioners,
and
Board
of
Education)
the
way
in
which
state
and
federal
tax
policies
and
the
resultant
cutbacks
contribute
to
local
tax
increases
or
lower
service.