The Uprising, December 21, 2018

Happy Holidays and welcome the The Uprising!

2. Rhode Island Standard of Need

The Economic Progress Institute (EPI) publishes its Rhode Island Standard of Need(RISN) report twice a year to answer two important questions:

  1. What is the cost of meeting basic needs for families and individuals in Rhode Island?
  2. How do state and federal work and income  supports help households meet the cost of basic needs?

“The RISN calculates a household budget for families with two young children, and for single adults,” says the EPI in their report. “The no-frills budget includes the costs of housing, food, transportation, health care, child care and other necessities including clothing, toiletries and telephone service.”

The EPI report found that “[m]any Rhode Island households do not earn enough to make ends meet. Two in three (67 percent) single-parent families with two or more children earn less than the $62,844 needed to meet their basic needs, while over one in four (28 percent) two-parent households with two or more children do not earn the $68,310 needed to pay basic expenses. More than two in five (43 percent) single adults earn less than the the $27,044 needed to meet basic needs.”

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