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:
- What is the cost of meeting basic needs for families and individuals in Rhode Island?
- 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.”