<p>Americans face a dilemma. The consumer price index rose 7% in December, and while wages have risen recently, they have not, for the most part, kept up with inflation. The median household income in the U.S. dropped 2.9% in 2020 to $67,521, in fact. As <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/04/business/economy/worker-pay-inflation.html">The New York Times</a> recently noted, "Only 17 percent of workers say they have received raises that kept up with inflation over the past year, according to a survey of 5,365 adults conducted last month."</p><p>Even as inflation increases the cost of living nationwide, the cost of living is not uniform between states. The state with the lowest cost of living is Mississippi. </p><p>While inflation has reached a four-decade high, a record number of Americans have quit their jobs - an average of almost 4 million a month last year - and they appear in no rush to become emplo
An online fundraiser has raised over $81,000 for a Monroe County couple after a fire late Thursday night killed five people, including their four children.
A teacher at East Hills Middle School in the Bethlehem Area School District died along with four children in a house fire in Polk Township, Monroe County overnight.