One of the few states where minimum wage is connected to inflation so inflation up = minimum wage up and vice versa. But is this the right thing to do?

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Solid housing markets, relatively stable employment, enviable cost of living and quick commutes make these metros among the country's most affordable to live. This is the opposite of the article: Where Is The Most Expensive City To Live In The USA? Found here:

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It will come as little surprise that the cost of groceries, gasoline and various sundries, at a little more than twice the national average, is highest in New York City. Helping push the Big Apple to the top of our list is an expensive housing market for both renters and buyers.

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A Full-Time Job Ain't What It Used To Be

News item: October 27, 2009 -- San Francisco Chronicle -- The California State Employment Development Department estimates that the underemployment rate hit 21.9 percent in September.

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It happens every month: Millions of American pony up for the gas bill, mortgage or rent payment and real estate taxes--and subsequently watch their bank balances dwindle. That's because housing expenses are the biggest monthly expense most families face.

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So every year you've gotten a little bump in your Social Security check due to inflation. Maybe you've come to consider it an annual raise from Uncle Sam. Well, this January, you might not get one.

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The foreclosure crisis has been the housing story since 2007. When it began, the story seemed simple enough: Some owners had taken out loans they could not afford, home values dropped, and, lacking the ability to refinance or sell for a profit, foreclosure followed.

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OK. Im going to make some changes here. PS3 cost $109 a Year just on standby. Ill be having a talk with my son.

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Hey! Have you noticed? While we are debating the bail out of G.M.,and Obama's night on the town, your gasoline went up 20%.

Gasoline has increased 20% at the pump in the last 30 days. Can you afford a cost of living increase? Probably not.

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Children, ages 5 to 11, who attend the Brooklyn Autism Center Academy which offers intensive educational instruction as one example have an annual tuition of $85,000 per year.

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POLL - What Changes Have You Made in Your Diet in These Hard Times?

In our household we don't eat steak anymore because it costs too much. I wonder how your eating habits have changed?

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Most readers won't be terribly surprised by these findings but I must admit that I was shocked to see El Paso, TX at no. 10 on the least affordable list.

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PRIVATE school: $32,000 a year per student. Mortgage: $96,000 a year. Co-op maintenance fee: $96,000 a year. Nanny: $45,000 a year. We are already at $269,000, and we haven't even gotten to taxes yet.

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"Five hundred thousand dollars — the amount President Obama wants to set as the top pay for banking executives whose firms accept government bailout money — seems like a lot, and it is a lot. To many people in many places, it is a princely sum to live on.

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With recession and rising costs of college, many may have to rethink a college education in the coming years.

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Now that the Bubble has Burst.

Halloween is over for another year, and we are facing some momentous events. Our American Friends and Cousins will soon be enjoying their Thanksgiving Dinners, and we, in the United Kingdom will be enjoying our Guy Fawkes night bonfires and fireworks.

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As the state of Michigan and more communities struggle to find solutions to poverty, we must have a better idea of what poverty means to the state's lower-income children.

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The soaring cost of living has had severe consequences for many people in these economically troubled times. Among them is a Florida man accused of smashing up a grocery store in protest at the rising price of crack cocaine.

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While the rest of us worry about tuition, clothes and school supplies for our kids as the new academic year starts, Cindy McCain appears at the RNC for one night, in a $300,000 outfit.

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By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer© Is the definition of a "recession" really this subjective?

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The author examines the glaring discrepancies in how the escalating cost of energy affects different socio-economic groups. Calls for energy policy that includes addressing the unique vulnerability of families in the lower socio-economic groups.

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The heart of the matter isn't the collapse in housing prices or even the frenetic rise in oil and food prices. These are contributing to the mess, but they are not creating it directly.

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Despite the crowded chambers, dozens of Dominion customers testified about how the rate change will affect their personal finances.

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The Costs of Greed

We are a selfish mob, we Australians. And we are not particulary good at taking responsibility for our own actions. Take the debate about the soaring cost of living - the rise in the cost of everything from fuel to food to housing.

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With a growing 2 million families facing home foreclosures nationwide and the cost of food and gasoline increasing, over 5,000 workers and community members gathered at Berth 87 at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro tonight to fight for good jobs that will keep them in the midd …

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