Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy
•Daniel Barajas: Co-Leader
•BrendaSue Dickey: Leader
•Alfonso Falcon
•Arturo Ortiz
•Alfonso Pinto
•Tony Trent
•Indelisa Zarate
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 2
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1

• Executive Summary
• Needs Analysis
• Solution Descriptions
• Solution Criteria
• Solution Choice
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Fall 2005
Daniel Barajas
Digital Bridge Academy 4
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• To collect information and data about:
– The shrinking of the Middle Class
– Privatization
• To create a solution that will address:
– High cost of living in Santa Cruz County
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 5
• How has the Middle Class changed in our community?
• How is the busy lifestyles of families/dual incomes, etc… tied to the loss of the Middle Class?
• What connection does our community perceive between the loss of the
Middle Class and privatization?
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• Daniel– Executive Summary
– Team Co-Leader
• BrendaSue– Need Statement
– Team Leader
• Tony– Need Statement
• Arturo– Need Statement
• Indelisa– Solution Statement
• Alfonso P. – Solution Statement
• Alfonso F.– Solution Statement
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 7
• Surveyed 206 people
– 60% - Students who have jobs
• Interviewed people from:
– The Plaza in Watsonville
– Cabrillo College Aptos and Watsonville
Campuses
– Agencies and large stores
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Gender:
• 34% men
• 66% women
Ethnicity:
• 75% Hispanics / Latinos
Age Distribution:
• 48% between the ages of 15-20
• 17% between 21-25
• 10% between 26-3 0
• 24% are ages 31+
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Income level:
• 50% of people are earning $0 to $25,000
Primary Language:
• Spanish - 52%
• English – 41%
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Many students interviewed…
• 62% of respondents are students
– 48% are attending college
– 60% of all students live with their parents
– 64% of students are employed
• Below 5 hrs - 5%
• 5-20hrs - 32%
• 20-40hrs - 37%
• 40+hrs - 30%
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 11
Family Size:
• Families have an average of 3-4 and up to 5-7 people living in their homes
Number of Families per Household:
• 15% have more than one family living in their homes
Family members working:
• 33% of households have 3-5 people working to maintain a living
• 2% of people have 6+ people working
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48% 60%
40%
20%
0%
21%
15%
High School
Diploma
Some College
College Diploma
• High School Diploma-- 21%
• Some College-- 48%
• College Diploma-- 15%
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• 77% are citizens
• 23% are not citizens
• 37% voted
• 63% did not vote
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7

Fall 2005
Higher Income and
More Jobs
By BrendaSue, Alfonso Pinto and
Arturo
Digital Bridge Academy 15
¾ Surveyed 206 people
¾ 3% - Homeless
¾ 7% - D.I.N.K.s (Double Income No Kids)
¾ 15% - Live in multiple Family Homes
¾ 6% - Single Parents
¾ 60% - Students who have jobs
¾ Surveys distributed to and collected from:
¾ The Plaza in Watsonville
¾ Cabrillo College Aptos and Watsonville Campuses
¾ Saladud para la Gente in Watsonville and Santa Cruz
Emiline Clinic
¾ Target
¾ Albertsons
¾ Star Bucks
¾ Home Depot
¾ Our families
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 16
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• Citizens in Santa Cruz County are living in a very expense place
• The middle class is being squeezed
• Working poor need:
– more income
– help with covering the cost of their essentials
– to learn the skills to increase their incomes and live within their means
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80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
74%
Education
Income
Family Size
Owning or Renting
Property
Undecided
• 74% said Income is what makes someone middle class.
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 18
9

How much money do you make in one year?
60%
40%
20%
0%
50%
16% 16%
7%
$0-$10,000
$10,001-$25,000
$25,000-$45,000
$45,001-$75,000
• Of 206 people surveyed 66% said they make $25,000/ year or less
• As defined by income less than 30% would be considered middle class
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 19
How many families live in your home?
100%
50%
0%
9% 3% 3%
1 family
2 families
3 families
4+ families
15% (or 31 respondents) surveyed have 2 our more families living in their homes
– 9% -- 2 families live in their home
– 3% -- 3 families live in their home
– 3% -- 4+ families live in their home
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Do you consider yourself a
Middle Class citizen?
• Yes-- 76%
• No-- 24%
– However 76% who consider themselves middle class are not as defined by income
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If you consider yourself Middle
Class, what do you find to be stressful in trying to keep up that lifestyle?
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
43%
• Money –43%
• Jobs –16%
16%
Nothing
Money
Jobs
Lack Of Govn't
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 22
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of staying in or becoming Middle
Class?
60% 53%
30%
0%
Education
Obligations
Family
Jobs
Community
Other
• 53% surveyed say that Jobs is the most stressful part of being in the
Middle Class
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 23
•47% -- Yes
• 12% - People leaving Santa Cruz County
• 19% - Less jobs
• 41% - Cost of living is rising
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• Not enough money
• Cost of living increasing
– 48% Rent
– 22% Gas
– 20% Food
– 13% Clothes
– 11% Entertainment
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When is the need evident?
• At the end of the month when rent is due in a few days and people are sweating trying to figure out where the money will come from
• When students are working and going to school so they don’t have to burden their parents anymore
• When gas is $2.80 per gallon and that is cheap!
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 26
13

Compared to your income how much are you going into debt each month?
60%
40%
20%
0%
19% 15%
9%
$0-$100
$101-$250
$251-$500
$500+
– 43% are going into debt $101 - $500+
Every Month!!
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 27
Why does this need occur?
• Former high wage jobs have left the United
States and been outsourced to overseas where the same job can be done for pennies on the dollar
• A living wage for one person in Santa Cruz
County is so high the jobs available do not meet the income range needed to live
– $11/hour with benefits*
– $12/hour without benefits*
* Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, Inc. website -
12/6/2005
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Why does this need occur?
• Citizens who make good money are living paycheck to paycheck
• Working citizens that make minimum wage depend on having more than one job
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• More people utilizing government resources
• Saving money for retirement
• Financial security
• Bigger middle class
• Citizens have more confidence in their finances
• Less stress for families
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• Residents fleeing the area
• Middle Class keeps shrinking
• Decline in our community
• Increase in high school drop-outs
• Creating a self-fulfilling prophecy
– People will talk about this forever
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 31
Give working poor:
– more income
– help with covering the cost of their essentials
– the skills to increase their incomes and live within their means
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 32
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Help working poor increase income
– Minimum wage is too low for our county’s cost of living
– Raise the Minimum Wage to the living wage of
Santa Cruz County
Cost of essentials is rising substantially
– Cost of rent is rising substantially in our area
– Cost of gasoline
Lack of skills to increase their incomes and live within our means
– Skills for higher-wage jobs
– Handle money and finances (budgeting)
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 33
Fall 2005
Indelisa, Alfonso P., Alfonso F.
Digital Bridge Academy 34
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1. Raise Minimum Wage in Santa Cruz County to living wage
2. Lower the Cost of Living by having Rent
Control
3. Provide workshops to teach skills to manage finances and develop careers to increase income
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 35
Solution 1: Raising the minimum wage…
Increase the minimum wage for Santa
Cruz County residents to a living wage
– all who live in Santa Cruz County can continue to live here
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Solution 2: Rent Control
Lower the cost of living in Santa Cruz
County by creating a rent control policy countywide
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 37
Solution 3: Finance
Management Workshop
Teach people in Santa Cruz County how to:
– budget effectively to match their income,
– save for the future and
– develop the skills needed for high wage careers that match their strengths
38 Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy
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Selection Criteria
1. Probability of happening
2. Long-term solution
3. Number of people affected
4. Number of people to attend
5. Resources required:
– Volunteers & donations
– On-going Costs
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 39
1.Probability of happening
Minimum
Wage Hike
X
2.Long-term solution X
3.Number of people affected
Fall 2005
XXX
Rent
Control
Finance &
Career
Management
Workshop
XX
XX
X
Digital Bridge Academy
XXX
XXX
XXX
40
20

Minimum
Wage Hike
Rent
Control
Finance &
Career
Management
Workshop
XXX
4.Number of people to attend
5.Resource
s to implement
6.On-going
Costs
Fall 2005
X X
X
Digital Bridge Academy
X
XXX
XXX
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Description of Chosen
Solution
A series of workshops to help residents of
Santa Cruz County understand how to:
– manage their finances
• deal with debt so that it is not as overwhelming as it is currently
• save for the future
• grow their savings
– increase their long-term income
• find careers that suit their strengths
• create a plan to get the education required for that career
Support groups for participants:
– to learn from each other how they are managing
Digital Bridge Academy 42
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Santa Cruz County citizens will:
– have more disposable income
– save money
– create confidence in themselves regarding money
– have a future source of income built on their strengths
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 43
In the first year of implementation:
1. 25% of minimum citizens will have successfully completed the workshops
2. 100% of participants will understand their finances better
3. 10% will have the ability to put money away
4. 5% will have more disposable income
(income-savings)
5. 5% will have found higher wage careers
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 44
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In the fifth year of implementation:
1. 90% of minimum citizens will have successfully completed the workshops
2. 100% of participants will understand their finances better
3. 50% will have the ability to put money away
4. 25% will have more disposable income
(income-savings)
5. 75% will have found higher wage careers
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 45
People of S.C. County will learn and be able to:
1. Budget for their limited income
2. Have more disposable income
3. Creatively work with their finances
4. Know their strengths and career options
5. Have more income
Fall 2005 Digital Bridge Academy 46
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