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Rents are rising faster than wages across the country, especially in these cities

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Wages for the typical U.S. worker have grown since the pandemic, but for many Americans those gains are being gobbled up by rising rent. 

Rents have jumped 30.4% nationwide between 2019 and 2023 while wages during that same period only grew 20.2%, according to a recent analysis from online real estate brokers Zillow and StreetEasy. Gaps between wage growth and rent increases were widest in large cities, including Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Miami, Phoenix and Tampa. Other cities where renters are feeling the tightest pinch include Baltimore, Cincinnati, Las Vegas, New York and San Diego. 

The cost of renting began its sharp climb during the pandemic, as demand roared due to Americans fleeing major urban centers and opting for more space away from neighbors in the suburbs and rural areas. Rent is still increasing, housing experts say, just at a much slower pace than in recent history.

Some locales including Austin, Texas, and Portland, Oregon, have seen rent decreases in the past year, according to the analysis, a stark contrast to more populated cities like New York, which “is heading in the opposite direction,” said StreetEasy Senior Economist Kenny Lee. 

“New multifamily buildings coming online have eased competitive pressure in many markets, but in New York City construction just simply can’t keep up with demand,” Lee said in a statement. 

The median U.S. rent rose to $1,987 in March, up nearly 0.8 % from a year ago, according to Rent.com. Rent has increased partially because of persistent strong demand from millennials and Gen Z adults who have been squeezed out of the housing market, Zillow’s analysis shows. Despite the increases, Americans continue to opt to rent in large part because it’s still cheaper than owning a home in major U.S. cities, according to an April Bankrate study

Rent outpacing wage growth means that many Americans are using an even larger portion of their paycheck for shelter and most likely sacrificing the purchase of other necessities like child care, groceries or saving for a home down payment, in order to do so.

Rising rent, which has helped fuel homelessness across the nation, has forced millions of Americans into spending more than the recommended 30% of their monthly income on housing. Rent increases have also played a major role in preventing inflation from falling, according to the latest consumer price index data

For now, the housing market’s affordability crisis is a major thorn in the side of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who continues to remain optimistic that rents will eventually come down.

“I am confident that as long as market rents remain low, this is going to show up in measured inflation, assuming that market rents do remain low,” Powell said last week during a press conference. “What will be the exact timing of it? We now think significantly longer than we thought at the beginning.” 



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Former Bolivian President Evo Morales claims his car was fired upon in attempted assassination

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Former President Evo Morales of Bolivia claimed he survived an assassination attempt on Sunday after unidentified men opened fire on his car. He was not injured and there was no immediate confirmation of the attack from authorities.

Morales alleged the shots were fired while he was being driven in Bolivia’s coca leaf-growing region of Chapare, the ex-president’s rural stronghold whose residents have blockaded the country’s main east-west highway for the past two weeks.

The roadblocks — protesting what Morales’ supporters decry as President Luis Arce’s attempts to sabotage his former mentor and bitter political rival — have isolated cities and disrupted food and fuel supplies.

Morales, who led Bolivia from 2006 to 2019, emerged unscathed from the alleged attack Sunday, appearing on his weekly radio show in his usual calm manner to recount what happened.

He told the radio host that as he was leaving home for the radio station, hooded men fired at least 14 shots at his car, wounding his driver.

Morales was quick to blame his successor, President Arce, with whom he is fighting to be the candidate of governing socialist party in next year’s presidential election. He claimed that Arce’s government resorted to physical force having been unable to defeat him politically.

Bolivia Morales
Former President Evo Morales speaks to supporters after marching to La Paz, Bolivia, to protest current President Luis Arce, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.

Juan Karita / AP


“Arce is going to go down as the worst president in history,” Morales said. “Shooting a former president is the last straw.”

Officials in Arce’s government did not respond to requests for comment on the incident.

Cellphone video circulating online shows Morales’ driver bleeding from the back of his head. Morales can be seen in the passenger’s seat holding a phone to his ear as the vehicle swerves and a woman’s voice shrieks “Duck!”

The footage shows the car’s front windshield cracked by at least three bullets and its rear windshield shattered. Morales can be heard saying, “Papacho has been shot in the head,” apparently referring to his driver.

“They are shooting at us,” Morales continues on the phone. “They shot the tire of the car and it stopped on the road.”

Morales’ claim deepens political tensions in Bolivia at a volatile moment for the cash-strapped Andean nation of 12 million.

In June, there was an apparent attempted coup by a rogue military general leading a rebellion, where armored vehicles and troops marched to the presidential palace and tried to force their way into the building. The rebellion retreated after Arce confronted the general, bringing the alleged coup attempt to a head, and ordered him to stand down. The general and other senior officers were later arrested.


Apparent military coup fails in Bolivia

04:28

Then, last month, Morales led a massive march against the government’s mismanagement of the economy that quickly devolved into street clashes with pro-government mobs. Imported goods are scarce and prices are rising. Drivers wait for hours to fill up at gas stations. The gap between the official and black-market exchange rates is widening.

Earlier this month, the feud between Morales and Arce moved to the courts as Bolivian prosecutors launched an investigation into accusations that Morales fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl in 2016, classifying their relationship as statutory rape.

Morales has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated and refused to testify in the case. Since reports surfaced of a possible arrest warrant against him, the ex-president has been holed up in the Chapare region, in central Bolivia, where supportive coca growers have kept vigilant watch to protect him from arrest.

President Arce accuses Morales of trying to undermine his administration to advance his own ambitions.



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Open: This is “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Oct. 27, 2024

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Open: This is “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Oct. 27, 2024 – CBS News


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This week on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance discusses Russian disinformation campaigns and the Trump-Vance ticket’s “women problem.” Plus, former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney joins.

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Full interview: GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance

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Full interview: GOP vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance – CBS News


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Watch Margaret Brennan’s full interview with Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, a portion of which aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Oct. 27, 2024.

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