Economic Mobility
Veterans Day 2013
Origins in Armistice Day “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given […]
Next Wave of State Minimum Wage Proposals Would ‘Index’ To Inflation
At least 10 states are considering raising their minimum wages even as President Obama’s proposal to increase the federal standard is stuck in Washington’s political quagmire. In one of those states, New Jersey, voters rather than legislators will decide the issue. A measure that will be on the ballot this fall would increase the state’s […]
One of Five Americans Struggling To Afford Food, Survey Finds
Despite record food stamp enrollment around the country and an economy considered to be on a modest upswing, the Great Recession is continuing to take its toll on many Americans who struggle to put food on the table, a Gallup survey released this week found. Nearly one in five Americans found it difficult to pay […]
Pew Studies Economic Mobility in the States
People living in a group of mostly Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic U.S. states are more likely than the average American to improve their economic status. But southerners are largely falling behind, according to a study released Thursday (May 10) by the Pew Center on the States, Stateline’s parent organization. The study, which tracked economic mobility over a […]
States step in to fill feds’ role (continued)
Maine mandates higher minimum wage, teacher salaries A legislative session that ended May 24 improved conditions for Maine’s workers. Lawmakers raised the minimum wage to .75 an hour (the federal minimum is .15) and minimum teacher salaries to ,000 a year, beginning in October. Those numbers will increase to an hour and ,000 a year […]
Report: States tax low-income families
The state income-tax burden faced by poor families has declined in the past 15 years, but some low-income families still incurred substantial state income-tax bills in 2005, according to a Feb. 22 report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities , a Washington, D.C., group that focuses on policies affecting the poor. The […]
South Lags in Industry Research
The New South looks uncomfortably like the Old South, as industry research in the region – a key component of economic and wage growth – lags behind the rest of the country, a new report shows. “Relative to the rest of the nation, we don’t get our fair share,” said Kentucky Gov. Paul Patton (D). […]