New affordable car program in Minnesota

One of the problems with being poor in the states is having reliable transportation. You need a car to get a job, but if you don't have a job you can't afford a car. Most who are poor can only afford a cheap car that runs poorly or is about to quit running, those may last for only a month or two.

This Associated Press story, introduces us to a new program in Minnesota that helps the poor get reliable transportation to take them to work, it's called Jump Start Duluth.

It gives low-income people the chance to qualify for a low-interest five-year loan. The applicants have to show they have enough money to afford payments, typically between $100 and $200 monthly. If they qualify, they can choose a car from a nonprofit dealership in Glenwood City, Wis., that buys auction cars with low miles.

Denise Lewis of Duluth remembers scraping together $500 two years ago to buy a 1996 Dodge Neon with 200,000 miles. It looked great but quickly wound up in the repair shop for a broken transmission, and Lewis went without the car for six months until she could afford the repair bill.

Lewis says she nearly cried when she learned this week that she had qualified for the Jump Start program.