It's a fact that many Rhode Islanders' wages are simply too low to meet basic living costs such as housing, food, healthcare, and childcare. It's also a fact that work support programs can help narrow the gap between the earnings and expenses of low-wage and middle-wage workers. Every Rhode Island Standard of Need (RISN) report that EPI has published since 2001 has found this.
The 2020 RISN made other critical findings relating to the COVID-19 pandemic — which turned the local, national, and global economies upside down — and if the state and employers value "essential" workers as much as they say they do. This infographic distills the top 7 findings of the 2020 RISN in 2 crisp, easy-to-follow pages.