Los Angeles needs half a million more affordable housing units, By Karen Weise, May 29, 2014, Businessweek: “California’s housing market has long been among the most expensive in the country, and the economic downturn has only made the situation worse. That’s one of the findings in a new report (pdf) from the California Housing Partnership Corporation, a nonprofit group set up by the state, that determined that Los Angeles County needs at least 490,340 more affordable homes to ease the housing burden on the state’s poorest residents. The county-level results echo the group’s February report (pdf) that found Californians need almost 1 million additional affordable housing units statewide. The CHPC’s reports are, frankly, devastating. The problem they lay out is that the financial crisis turned owners into renters . . .”
Month: May 2014
Rural Poverty
USDA says poverty increasing in rural America, By Michael Rosmann, May 28, 2014, Farm and Ranch Guide: “Rural child poverty is at its highest level since the mid-1980s, according to two recently released USDA Reports: Rural America at a Glance, 2013 Edition and Rural Poverty & Well-being. Like the overall poverty rate, child poverty in nonmetropolitan (rural) areas of the US has historically been higher than in metropolitan (urban) areas. In 2012, rural child poverty increased to 26.7 percent – its highest level in nearly three decades – while the urban rate declined slightly to 20.9 percent. Definition of poverty. The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines poverty as less income than is necessary to purchase basic needs, which include food, shelter, clothing and other essential goods. . .”
Minimum Wage – Michigan
Michigan becomes seventh state this year to raise minimum wage, By Eric Morath, May 28, 2014, Wall Street Journal: “Michigan has become the first Republican-controlled state to join a recent wave of local minimum-wage increases, marking a potential shift in the battle over the issue heading into the November elections. Lawmakers on Tuesday approved an increase to $9.25 an hour from $7.40 by 2018 in Michigan, setting one of the highest pay floors in the Midwest. The deal was an effort to quash a potential ballot proposal for a larger increase that also would have nearly quadrupled mandated pay for tipped restaurant workers. The maneuver suggests Republicans at the state level may be willing to accept smaller, more tailored minimum-wage increases to blunt demand . . .”