Word: lowes
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...Poignantly, the one thing that unites the poor and the middle class in their hopes for family life is the imperishable dream of being married forever, grabbing hold of the golden ring of lasting partnership. The low-income mothers studied by Kefalas and co-author Kathryn Edin spoke repeatedly of their wish to get married; they "cherish marriage and hold it to an impossibly high standard," the authors found, but too often forgo it as a result. Meanwhile, the middle class has spent the past 2½ decades - during which the divorce culture became a fact of life - turning weddings...
...Boston University professor Ellen Ruppel Shell argues that the allure of low prices is leading us astray: in their bid to drive down costs, big-box stores have kept the salaries and benefits for their employees to a bare minimum; fashion retailers have prioritized price over style and quality, often using their outlet stores to hawk a completely different line of merchandise. Finally, what kind of bottomless plate of scampi do you really think 15 bucks can buy? In her new book, Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture, Shell argues that our never-ending pursuit of cheap has blighted...
Conservatives claim California is a high tax state. In fact, California's taxes are similar to other high-tech, industrial states. According to the non-partisan Legislative Analyst Office and the Tax Foundation, California has comparatively high sales taxes and rates for corporate income, but very low property taxes. State income taxes are very progressive, with a large proportion of revenue comes from households earning more than $100,000, as well as from taxes on stock options and capital gains. Low-income households, meanwhile, face lower tax rates that in most other states. This tax system, says Steve Peace, director...
...state's finances could be made more stable by raising income taxes on middle and low-income families - which would reduce the state's dependency on volatile stock and capital gains income - a big reason for the current catastrophic deficits. But that is all but politically impossible in California. (See pictures of polarizing politicians on LIFE.com...
...dilemma? A number of reforms are receiving attention. On the tax and budget side, these include eliminating the need for a two-thirds majority vote on budget and tax matters and instituting a split-roll for property taxes that would allow homeowners to continue to pay according to the low rates mandated by Proposition 13, but require commercial property to be assessed at market value. To relieve the logjam in California politics, momentum is growing for an open primary system, in which the two top vote getters in the primary, regardless of party, would face each other in the general...