http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-890020.mp3
Albany, NY – According to Penn State's Living Wage Calculator, a family with two adults and two children living in NYC must make over thirty dollars an hour to make a living wage..that is, meet the basic cost of living there without any frills. A poverty wage would be 9.83 an hour. In LA, that living wage would be over thirty four dollars an hour. In Dayton, Ohio it's 26.23. In Atlanta, it's 27.02. The federal minimum wage is 7.25 an hour. Therein lies the problem. There's a gap between the minimum wage and the living wage for a family of four that's over twenty dollars.
In her book, "The Moral Underground: How Ordinary Americans Subvert An Unfair Economy", author Lisa Dodson spent years talking to the bosses and managers of those low wage workers..and discovered something surprising.
9:17 Dodson
Lisa Dodson is the author of "The Moral Underground: How Ordinary Americans Subvert An Unfair Economy." It is published by New Press.
Domestic violence is in the news - particularly on the east coast. NY's governor got into hot water after admitting to stepping into the middle of a domestic violence case involving one of his aides. A NY state senator was ousted from office after being charged with attacking his girlfriend. A mayor in a large NYC suburb faces charges of slamming his wife's hand in a door. According to domestic violence advocates, immigrant women suffering from domestic abuse face particularly high hurdles in finding protective services. The current recession has resulted in budget cuts, further shrinking the safety net for immigrant women. Bijoyeta Das has this report.
7:00 Immigrant Domestic Violence
And finally, Manisha Thakor is here with some tips for helping you through that most dreaded of American traditions - income tax season.
4:00 Thakor commentary
You can find more from Manisha Thakor at ManishaThakor.com.