Thursday, October 18, 2018

Car Crashes Increased In States Legalizing Recreational Marijuana

From MarketWatch, "Car crashes rise in states where marijuana is legal relative to states where it isn't--IIHS-HDLI" by Tomi Kilgore:
Car crashes are up by as much as 6% in the four states in which recreational marijuana is legal, compared with neighboring states in which it is still illegal, according to report published Thursday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI).
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The report said analysts controlled for differences in the rated driver population, insured vehicle fleet, the mix of urban versus reual exposure, unemployment, weather and seasonality. "The new IIHS-HLDI research on marijuana and crashes indicates that legalizing marijuana for all uses is having a negative impact on the safety of our roads," said IIHS-HLDI President David Harkey. "States exploring legalizing marijuana should consider this effect on highway safety."

Saturday, October 13, 2018

Cost Of Living Hi-Lo Difference Within Individual States

From Pew Reseach Center, "The real value of a $15 minimum wage depends on where you live" by Drew DeSilver:
Living costs not only vary widely throughout the country, they can vary a lot within individual states as well. In California, the priciest metro area (San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, more or less synonymous with Silicon Valley) is 42.3% more expensive than the least costly (El Centro, in the Imperial Valley across the border from Mexicali, Mexico). Metropolitan Miami is 30.3% more expensive than Sebring, Florida, roughly three hours to the northwest.
Within State Hi-Lo Cost Of Living Difference
Source: Pew Research Center