According to an updated calculator released today by think tank Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a single parent with two kids needs $64,170 annually to achieve a “modest but adequate” standard of living in Orleans Parish. EPI’s “Family Budget Calculator” has been newly expanded to include cost-of-living information for U.S. counties, parishes and metropolitan statistical areas. It provides estimates on such expenses as housing, child care, transportation, taxes and other essentials for families with one or two parents and up to four children. (whole story)
Best of New Orleans
March 7, 2018
Residents seem to love the Bossier lifestyle — in fact, it’s been recognized as the best place to live in the entire state of Louisiana. But that lifestyle apparently comes with a price tag: Bossier Parish is among the most expensive parishes in North Louisiana in which to live, according to a new report. The ‘Family Budget Calculator,’ produced by the nonprofit think tank the Economic Policy Institute, “measures the income a family needs in order to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living.” In Bossier Parish, that means a required budget of some $74,205, the EPI calculator says. (whole story)
Bossier Now
March 7, 2018
It’s no secret: kids cost a lot of money. In the state of Oregon, it takes more than $77,000 per year for a couple to raise two kids, according to a non-profit think tank. The Family Budget Calculator, updated by the Economic Policy Institute Tuesday, estimates the costs to raise a family in a “modest yet adequate” standard of living. The monthly costs included housing, food, transportation, health care, and child care, which is often the biggest cost. “Research over the years has shown that Oregon has some of the nation’s most expensive child care,” said Janet Bauer, policy analyst with the Oregon Center for Public Policy, who examined the calculator’s data. (whole story)
KDRV-TV
March 7, 2018
EPI UPDATES FAMILY BUDGET TOOL: The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute updated its Family Budget Calculator Tuesday to reflect recent economic data. The tool allows users to find out the cost of living for families of varying sizes across 611 metro areas. View it here.
Politico Pro
March 7, 2018
How much does it cost to raise a family? It all depends on where you live.
The Economic Policy Institute, a progressive, nonprofit think tank, on Tuesday updated its “family budget calculator,” which shows what’s required for families to attain an adequate — if modest — standard of living in communities across the U.S. The calculator contains data on the cost of living for 10 family types in all 3,142 counties (and county equivalents) and in all 611 metro areas. (whole story)
Market Watch
March 7, 2018
“I truly dislike the vast majority of things the Trump administration has done,” said Josh Bivens, the director of research for the liberal think tank Economic Policy Institute, who wrote an column in the New York Times Monday defending the tariffs. “It’s definitely very unusual for me to defend them. “Bivens argues that state-supported steel and aluminum plants in China create unfair competition to the U.S. industry and imposing these kinds of tariffs is a necessary first step to level the playing field. “This is not a long-term fix,” he says. “But this is a way to jumpstart that solution.”
CNN Money
March 6, 2018
Marketplace
March 6, 2018
What’s particularly worrisome is the breadth of Trump’s trade action. The US would likely be justified in levying anti-dumping measures against China. Chinese government subsidies have allowed its companies to sell steel for less than their true production costs. Russia, India, Taiwan, Turkey, Brazil, Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan also unfairly prop up their steelmakers, argues Robert Scott, economist at the Economic Policy Institute.
Quartz
March 6, 2018
In the last forty-five years, American economic productivity has gone through the roof while hourly wages have stagnated. Higher productivity means more wealth, of course, but workers aren’t seeing a proportional cut of that wealth — executives and shareholders are keeping it for themselves. The fact that the US labor force is almost 75 percent more productive than in 1973 but is paid practically the same per hour is central to the story of surging economic inequality. But there’s another dimension to the story: workers’ hourly pay may have stalled out, but their average annual earnings have gone up. As elucidated in a new report from the Economic Policy Institute, there’s only one explanation for this: many people are working longer hours. In particular, those who earn the least and are most precariously employed have seen the most significant rise in work hours. The report finds that the 20 percent of wage earners in the lowest wage bracket have increased their annual work hours by nearly 24.3 percent since 1979. In the top quintile, that number only increased 3.6 percent. (whole story)
Jacobin
March 6, 2018
Fifty years ago, the Kerner Commission said white racism put African Americans at an extreme disadvantage. A new report from the Economic Policy Institute found while some steps toward equality have been made, racial inequality around jail & prison rates, housing, and unemployment has actually become worse. Rick Hurst, publisher of An African American Point of View, spoke with Carrie Saldo about the local implications of the report.
WGBY
March 6, 2018