Cost Of Living

It is better than nothing. That has been the subdued mantra repeated by working Americans in recent weeks as they spend the Bush administration's final tax rebate in an economy racked by soaring gasoline costs, housing foreclosures, toppling banks and Wall Street jitters. From Atlanta's crowded housing projects to Indiana's sprawling farm fields to San Gabriel's bustling Chinatown, they spend because they have to -- a dispiriting indication of worry, not of consumer confidence.

The House voted 244-181 to give lawmakers a pay raise of approximately $4,400 that will increase their salaries to almost $170,000. The cost-of-living raise gets lawmakers back on track for automatic pay raises after fights between Democrats and Republicans last year and again in January killed the pay hike due this year. It was the first interruption of the annual congressional pay hike in seven years. The Senate has not indicated when it will deal with a similar measure.

Everyone knows living in California isn't cheap. But a new report casts a light on how challenging it is to afford basic necessities -- and how inadequate a minimum-wage job is to meet those needs. A person working full-time for the state's minimum wage of $7.50 an hour earns $15,600 annually.

California's poverty rate leaps from 15th highest in the nation to third highest when the cost of living is factored in, and the state may be missing out on federal funding for programs such as food stamps and Head Start, a new study concludes. The nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California on Wednesday released its new report, which shows only Washington, D.C.

A week before Los Angeles County supervisors take up a nearly $20-billion budget described as one of the healthiest in decades, county employees are stepping up pressure for raises that keep pace with the accelerating local cost of living. On Tuesday, more than 1,000 members of Service Employees International Union Local 660 -- which represents more than half of the county's 90,000 employees -- staged a noisy rally at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration.

Moscow has eclipsed Tokyo as the world's most expensive city, according to a new survey. The Russian capital moved up three spots since a year ago thanks to a recent property boom, the survey released today showed, while the Japanese capital slipped to third place, following the sliding value of the yen. South Korea's Seoul ranked second on the list, up from fifth last year.

Wages for the vast majority of Californians have barely kept pace with the cost of living in the five years since the last recession, according to a new study. The California Budget Project study tracked hourly wage increases, adjusted for inflation, across three earning categories: low, median and high. In 2005, hourly pay for the lowest earners was $10, median pay was $17, and high pay was $30.

Unionized workers at Ford Motor Co. have approved contract changes that include freezing wages and cutting benefits to help the automaker remain competitive. The United Auto Workers said a majority of hourly workers voted in favor of modifications to the 2007 contract with Ford, eliminating cost-of-living increases and cash bonuses. The agreement is expected to be a model for Chrysler and General Motors Corp., which need to bring their labor costs in line with those of foreign auto companies' plants in the U.S. as a condition for the $17.4 billion they have received in federal loans so far.

Sharply rising costs for housing, healthcare, transportation and child care have made it tougher for California households to make ends meet, according to a report to be released today. Incomes required to achieve a "modest" standard of living here are generally far higher than the state's minimum wage or the federal poverty level, said the California Budget Project, a Sacramento-based nonprofit group focusing on issues affecting low- and middle-income Californians.

Zhuo Yunbao and Lan Nan buy their clothes at inexpensive stores in underground malls and neighborhood outlets. They rarely eat out. Their 8-year-old son's tiny room is bare of toys. It's not that the Shanghai family is poor. Far from it. By Chinese standards, they are part of the growing middle class, between them grossing around 7,000 yuan a month -- about $860. But instead of spending their way to a higher standard of living, the Zhuos are saving nearly half their income.