#state-comparisons

#state-comparisons

The report contends that the lower rungs of the middle class shrank because more Americans got richer, with 31% of families classified as upper middle class in 2024.

"Genes don't change that fast and they don't vary that much across the world. So changes over time and variations across the world are largely environmental."

Starting next month, the cost of renouncing your U.S. citizenship will go down dramatically - a boon for people already shouldering the burden of paying for a major overseas move. Anyone wishing to formally shed their American citizenship is required to obtain a form called a Certificate of Loss of Nationality, and right now it comes with a whopping $2,350 fee. In April, that fee will drop by 80% to $450.

I remember stepping out of Austin-Bergstrom Airport last July, and the heat hit me like opening an oven door. Not the dry, manageable warmth I knew from Southern California, but something thick and heavy that made my shirt cling to my back before I even reached the rental car. That moment was my first real hint that moving from California to Texas would be more than just a change of scenery.

Existing home sales fell 8.4% from December to January, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Economists had expected a 4.6% monthly drop, according to WSJ data. Sales were down 4.4% from a year earlier, hitting a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million. Zoom in: The decline was most acute for single-family homes, where sales fell 9%. Regionally, the West was down 10.3%, the South 9% and the Midwest 7.1%, while the Northeast rose 5.9%.

A letter writer takes issue with the GOP Chairman of Santa Cruz's lament that Gavin Newsom and California Democrats have sabotaged state legislation that would have eliminated taxes on tips for low-wage heroes like servers and bartenders. Her complaint is that Republicans blocked legislative efforts to raise California's minimum wage, implying that if Republicans really cared about workers, they would support a higher minimum wage.

The latest Census data also suggest the next phase of U.S. politics will be shaped less by a single national economy than by who benefited from growth and where they live. By the numbers: The U.S. median household income rose to $80,734, the 2020-2024 American Community Survey released Thursday and examined by Axios showed. That's a 4.4% jump from 2015-2019 after inflation.

call a Republican.

"There are some that say he's a dictator. Well, no, he's not a dictator - we voted him in," she said. "I think it would all be a lot better if we didn't resist the federal government and instead just got together and said, 'Hey, I'm with you ... Let's sit down, work together and clean it up instead of fight it'."

The 22nd Amendment, added to the United States Constitution in 1951, states that no person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice. Until recently, it seemed that Americans were in unanimous agreement that this rule was in the best interest of Americans and democracy as a whole. However, in late 2025 Trump constituents began selling t-shirts bearing the words, "Trump 2028 (Rewrite the Rules)."

He began by characterizing what I had written as "fascinating," which could have meant a multitude of things coming from a teenager. He then explained that his eighth-grade English class included recent discussions about immigrant pursuits of the American dream. Accordingly, one major takeaway from those conversations with his teacher and peers was that many people come to the U.S. because it is perceived as a land of opportunity.

By December of 2025, the 60-year-old was back at work, "un-retiring" as rising costs made retirement unaffordable. She now holds three jobs. Moving from celebration to working six days a week was difficult and disappointing, she said, and meant putting personal projects and creative pursuits on hold - like writing a book.