Economic Policy Institute
Director of Health Policy Research for at progressive Economic Policy Institute
PROFILE
Elise Gould
Guest
FROM Elise Gould
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
How Expensive is LA? $73,000 Annually, Just to Get By Los Angeles is an expensive place to live, though we’re often told it’s better than San Francisco or New York. The liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute surveys the region each year and comes up with a family budget -- the amount of income necessary to cover health care, housing, food and taxes. Just the essentials, no saving. For a family with two adults and two children, that comes to $73,000 each year . And yet, many Angelenos are falling short. Over two-thirds of Latinos make less than the family budget threshold. Over one-third of whites are missing the mark. And the big culprits are housing, health and childcare.
Which Way, L.A.?
America and Poverty: What the Numbers Mean for Gen-Y Recovery from the Great Recession is sluggish at best, and the Census Bureau has provided the latest evidence of ongoing decline. Last year, poverty in America rose to its highest level since 1993, with the number of poor people now approaching 50 million. We look at the impact on different age groups, ethnicities and levels of education. Segment image: A man looks through a trash dumpster on September 14, 2011 in New York City. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
To the Point
America and Poverty: What Do the Numbers Mean for Gen Y? Recovery from the Great Recession is sluggish at best, and the Census Bureau has provided the latest evidence of ongoing decline. Last year, poverty in America rose to its highest level since 1993, with the number of poor people now approaching 50 million. Some are children of the Middle Class. Even college graduates face a high rate of unemployment, at the same time they're strapped with the debt accumulated in getting degrees. Their future is bleak and they'll have trouble helping their aging parents, who have to rely on assets that are losing their value. We hear what it's like to be poor and look at the consequences for different segments of a struggling population.
To the Point
Poverty Level Highest in Half Century, Census Shows Some 43.6 million Americans now live in poverty and the poverty rate is now 14.3% -- the highest since 1994. That's according to the Census Bureau's annual report , released today in Washington. Economist Elise Gould of the progressive Economic Policy Institute has more.
Recommended
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
To the Point
What is Trump's plan for Middle East peace? On his first foreign tour, President Trump has promised "peace" between Israel and the Palestinians. Are there any details for re-starting talks that have been stalled for the past three years?
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.