los angeles, the biggest port, is spending 1.3 billion to protect market dominance. the suspending on both coasts may be a gamble. there's reason for optimism. with 1.5 million containers moving through the port, shipments are at a high. >>> the fiercest competition sparked by the expansion of the panama canal will be between east coast ports, battling to steal market share. among the biggest winners is you, the american consumer. they are among the conclusions of a transportation and infrastructure special of the. he calls this a true feel-good story. >> for the american consumer and businesses, there's upside. additional goods that reduce transportation costs means cheaper agriculture. electronics in the stores, and cheaper input products for business, they can export those advanced industrial products to other markets across the world. it's a bin win. the real question is between the ports, is it a zerosome games. how often is that different versus global economic forces and trade demands that may flat line or grow at a certain rate. different to what the panama c

los angeles, 31 %, san diego 42, new york city, 28% of homes are within reach of local middle income buyers. fairfield connecticut has 38%, all the way out in honolulu which is not south of texas, only 47% are within reach. i spoke to jed, a chief economist for trulia that put the research together and he says affordability is worsening because prices are rising faster than income. >> income is sluggish. mortgage rates have moved up. last year they hit a low in the low 3s. now we are in the low 4s. rates have come down a bit offer the past six month, but they are up from the historic low from earlier last year. higher prices and rates together. that affordability is getting worse. it's harder for the middle class to buy a home. >> you calculate monthly payments and figure out that affordable is 31% less than the medium income in a given area. you are only comparing apples to apples, to the same income in that median rer area. >> that 31% is a guideline determining whether a borrower can afford the home they are looking at. income differs. in san francisco and san jose are higher nan

. >> we're here in the vortex... only on al jazeera america ♪ >>> president obama was in los angeles today promoting a new jobs training law he signed on tuesday. he spoke to stress the importance of teaching new skills to workers especially in fast-growing sectors like health care. it gives local governments greater flexibility in how they use federal money for training programs. >>> rising college tuition and soaring student loan debt have focused new attention on a small group of schools that have been around for more than a century. they are called work colleges, and they require the student to have an oncampus job. they had less than half of the debt of students who graduated from private or public colleges. many work college students say the schools offer experiences other schools can't match. >> reporter: these blacksmiths are actually college students in ashville, north carolina. >> it's going to go across the formal garden. it is going to be really sick. >> reporter: they are fashioning metal goods for sale. >> what is this? >> these are nettles they grow next to our herb ga

meantime, los angeles, the country's biggest port is sending $1.3 billion to protect itself market dominance. the heavy spending on both coasts may be a gamble, but with nearly 1.5 million containers moving through u.s. ports in june alone, shipments are at a five-year high. >>> well the fiercest competition sparked by the expansion of the panama canal will be east coast ports. among the winners will be american consumers. we are joined with a infrastructure specialist with the brookings institution. he joins me from washington to explain why this is a true feel-good story. i agree. i think it's important for these ports to be as effective as they can be. but more goods will be getting to more u.s. ports. is there any downside to this? >> for the american consumer and businesses, there's really only upside. any additional goods that could reduce transportation costs means cheaper agriculture, electronics, and maybe most importantly, cheaper import products for our businesses. so from that side, it's a big win. the real question is, between these ports is it a zero sum gain. how much will be