These 2,000 families are part of a much larger story. South Carolina is still grappling with deep economic challenges. According to the Economic Policy Institute, as of 2023, 13.9% of South Carolinians live below the poverty line, and the state’s child poverty rate is even higher, at 19.1%.
Rural counties are especially hard hit. While statewide poverty hovers near 14%, some rural areas face poverty rates above 24%. The systemic barriers — lack of access to transportation, broadband, child care, and good-paying jobs — continue to trap too many families in generational cycles of economic insecurity.
We also see from the State of Working South Carolina report that nearly one in five workers earn less than $15/hour, and many of the jobs projected to grow in the coming decade don’t pay more than $20/hour. The MIT Living Wage Calculator estimates that a single adult in South Carolina needs approximately $22.15 per hour to cover basic needs. These are not just statistics — they are real people in real need.
Brandon Brown Substack
November 24, 2025
Data makes this pattern difficult to overlook. During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Black and Hispanic workers were laid off or furloughed at a significantly higher rate than white workers, even in the same industries, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
The Badger Herald
November 24, 2025
Data from the Economic Policy Institute has shown that when U.S. scores are adjusted for socioeconomic inequality, the U.S. ranking jumps significantly – for example, in their analysis of 2009 data, the U.S. moved from 14th to 6th once results were adjusted for inequality.
Freddie Deboer (Substack)
November 21, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute pegs the overall average ratio at 290 to 1, up from 21 in 1965.
The Wall Street Journal
November 21, 2025
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimates a family with two working adults and one child needs to earn over $104,000 just to achieve a “living wage” in NH, while the Economic Policy Institute estimated the same household would need between $75,966 to $101,336 for a “modest yet adequate standard of living,” depending on where they lived in NH.
Business NH Magazine
November 21, 2025
In another analysis of the top 350 U.S. companies, average CEO pay increased 6% in 2024 after two years of decline, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The report highlighted the wide disparity between CEO and average worker pay, noting that CEOs have “extraordinary leverage over corporate boards that set their pay.”
HR Dive
November 21, 2025
Combining this strategy with cost-of-living data from the Economic Policy Institute, they report that a single adult with no children in the nation needs to make $106,745 in pretaxed income to live comfortably in America.
The Oklahoman
November 21, 2025
Critics slammed the change as a way to target immigrants as part of Trump’s broader policies.
“It’s a terrible and unfair idea to deny tax credits to people who have paid taxes and are eligible for them because of their immigration status,” said Daniel Costa, director of Immigration Law and Policy Research at the Economic Policy Institute.
Associated Press
November 21, 2025
But tapping Americans who have left the labor force due to illness or incarceration is a high-risk strategy that is unlikely to succeed, many economists said. Skills atrophy after people leave the labor force. Many who do often have substance abuse problems or other issues that make them a poor fit for work alongside high-powered machinery.
“It’s totally unrealistic,” said Adam Hersh, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, a left-of-center think tank.
The Washington Post
November 21, 2025
Data from the Economic Policy Institute has shown that when U.S. scores are adjusted for socioeconomic inequality, the U.S. ranking jumps significantly – for example, in their analysis of 2009 data, the U.S. moved from 14th to 6th once results were adjusted for inequality.
Freddie Deboer (Substack)
November 21, 2025