One of the most powerful ways to prevent poor kids from remaining in poverty is for them to have higher-income friends that provide a view of a better economic future. That’s the conclusion of a landmark new study that analyzed long-term effects of replacing high-poverty public housing projects with mixed-income neighborhoods. The New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof explains:

Children moving into public housing in the redeveloped, mixed-income neighborhoods stayed only five years on average but saw a 17 percent increase in the likelihood that they would attend college and, among boys, a 20 percent decrease in the prospect that they would end up incarcerated. Those living in the new housing for their entire childhoods will earn 50 percent more over their lifetimes, the study concluded.

Disappointingly, the study found that adults living in the new mixed-income developments did not benefit economically. 

That fits in with other studies: Turning around the lives of adults is difficult.

States can’t afford corporate tax breaks anymore

The federal tax and budget megabill includes massive tax breaks that will benefit large corporations, which will be partially offset by cuts to safety-net programs used by people with low incomes. The new law also shifts some of the financial responsibility of those programs to states. Don Griswold of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities explains why the megabill’s fiscal fallout will require corporations to pay their fair share: 

States can no longer afford to ignore corporate tax favoritism. They have an opportunity to stop enabling billion-dollar corporations to deprive residents of vital funding for shared needs like public education, roads and bridges, and clean drinking water. The fiscally prudent path in 2026 is to enact corporate tax fairness reforms to counter cuts in the harmful Republican megabill and better equip states to meet their residents’ needs.

Louisiana is going in the opposite direction, recently approving permanent tax cuts for corporations.


Louisiana maintains one of nation’s lowest incomes

Louisiana is better off than it was 50 years ago, but still ranks near the bottom nationally in economic growth. That’s according to a new analysis from the Urban Institute. Katy Reckdahl of The Lens breaks down the statewide numbers and racial disparities in New Orleans: 

The state’s median household earned $58,229 in 2023, a 25.8% increase since 1970. Louisiana’s ranking among states in 1970 was 48th and the state stayed at that ranking again in 2023. Only West Virginia and Mississippi had lower incomes. In New Orleans, income cannot be analyzed without noting sharp racial inequities. In 2021, white households in the city earned a median of $83,727 while Black households earned a median of $30,292, a 64% gap, the Data Center found. Another even wider gap flows from that disparity: 51% of Black children in New Orleans live in poverty, compared with 5% of white children. 

New Orleans passes one-year ban on data centers

The New Orleans City Council on Wednesday approved a one-year ban on the construction of data centers. The ban was in response to a proposed data center in New Orleans East. Aliana Mediratta of Verite News reports on pushback that project received from Mayor Helena Moreno and locals.

“I’m working in collaboration with the New Orleans City Council to prevent projects like this from happening in our neighborhood,” Moreno said. Some residents in the area say that the project will have negative environmental impacts, cause noise and light pollution, and lower property values. A chief concern for data centers is the vast amount of power they use, potentially stressing local grids or requiring new electrical generation. 

Number of the Day

84.5 – Consumer Confident Index, which measures Americans’ confidence in the economy, in December 2025, a twelve-year low. (Source: The Conference Board via Axios)