Logging on: Baton Rouge ranks No. 87 out of 100 of the nation’s top metro areas for the performance and adoption of broadband internet access, according to a new Brookings Institute report. The report examines gaps in broadband—or high speed—internet access in American neighborhoods to gain a better understanding of the nation’s digital divide. In 13.4% of neighborhoods in Baton Rouge, 40% or fewer households subscribe to broadband services. Just 13.4% of the city’s neighborhoods have between 80% and 100% of households subscribing to high speed internet services. Read the full report.
High five: Louisiana remains one of the most business-friendly states, according to Area Development magazine, a national trade publication. For the second year in a row, the state ranks No. 5 overall in magazine’s annual Top States for Doing Business survey, which is based on a feedback from the nation’s top site selection consultants. In individual categories, Louisiana ranks No. 1 for speed of permitting, No. 2 for Leading Workforce Development Program, and No. 4 for Incentive Programs, Cooperative State Government, and Most Favorable Regulatory Environment. Area Development also lauded Louisiana for the new economic development fund it created with a large donation from Cleco. Read more.
Treading water: Today’s full-time male worker earns a median income of $52,000—about as much as his counterpart did in 1972, Catherine Rampell writes in a recent column for The Washington Post. The data reflects income stagnation and is one of the most striking parts of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2016 income, poverty and health insurance report, Rampell says. And though incomes did increase last year, the current median household nonetheless brings in about as much as its counterpart in 1999 did—around $59,000. Men are still faring better than women. But unlike women—who’ve seen their wages trend upward—men aren’t making much progress and understandably feel like they’re treading water, she writes. Read the full column.
