A guaranteed-income study is expanding to include more New Orleans teens. The program, which initially included 20 high school students, will now provide 1,600 high school seniors with $50 per week in no-strings-attached cash. The Times Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Marie Fazio reports on the benefits that early participants have experienced:
According to preliminary data, which has not yet been peer reviewed, students who were given the funds attended an average of two more school days per semester and their reading test scores grew by nearly double that of the control group. Researchers also found students who received the money demonstrated better “financial capability,” a term used to refer to financial literacy and real-world application, and scored higher on tests measuring their financial well-being.
Initial data on the program showed that recipients saved or spent their money on basic necessities:
Students in phase one of the study, which took place from 2022 to 2023, only used about half of cash assistance. About 47% of the money remains in the students’ bank accounts, suggesting many are saving. Of the money they did spend, about 50% went towards food and groceries, 30% to goods and services, 12% to transportation, 3% to healthcare and the rest to other expenses.
Another dismal ranking
Louisiana is the worst state to live in, according to a new report from WalletHub. Analysts graded states on 51 key indicators of livability, including income growth, poverty and education. The Shreveport Times’ Greg Hilburn reports:
Among the Louisiana individual rankings within the report: Housing costs, 40th; percentage of population in poverty, 49th; income growth, 47th; adults in fair or poor health, 46th; and average weekly work hours, 45th. Within major sectors of the WalletHub study Louisiana’s economy ranked 50th, education/healthcare 48th and safety 44th.
Hilburn notes Louisiana consistently ranks at or near the bottom on rankings for well-being.
The newest study also mirrors Louisiana’s last-place ranking for the second consecutive year in the U.S. News and World Report’s 2024 Best States report, which cited an atmosphere of violent crime, poisonous industrial pollution, poverty and a dwindling population among the state’s hardships. It also tracks with last year’s Kids Count report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation ranking Louisiana 49th for child well-being.
Broadband expansion faces challenges in rural areas
Using $1.36 billion in new federal funding, Louisiana is planning to expand broadband internet access to 140,000 locations – including homes, schools, libraries and hospitals – where it’s currently lacking. But as BRProud’s Shannon Heckt explains, state officials are encountering challenges in rural areas.
They have found some rural areas are not getting bids from companies so they hope to create incentives or find other ways to make sure people are covered. “There are project areas which might have just two literal locations, two addresses where the cost of building fiber is going to be $60,000,” said Veneeth Iyengar, executive director of Connect Louisiana. “And so in some of those cases, if there’s not a taker, we will ensure that we find a solution for those two folks.”
Impact of enhanced premium tax credits by race
Enhanced premium tax credits (PTCs) have made health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace more affordable for millions of people. But Congress will soon have to decide whether to extend or make permanent these credits or allow them to expire at the end of 2025. A new report from the Urban Institute explains the benefits PTCs have on Black and Hispanic people.
With enhanced PTCs, Black and Hispanic people are projected to increase their enrollment in the nongroup market at substantially higher rates relative to White people and will account for a larger share of nongroup enrollment in 2025 than without the enhanced PTCs. In addition, Black and Hispanic people will see greater reductions in the percent of uninsured people relative to White people because of this policy.
Number of the Day
$2 billion – Estimated cost for deferred maintenance projects on Louisiana public college campuses. Schools will have access to $75 million this year to tackle this backlog. (Source: The Times Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate)