For several reasons, the notion of what constitutes a basic standard of living in any given area of the U.S. is a moving target. The cost of housing and medical care, the cost and availability of child care, the cost of transportation — all become real considerations in this conversation, and all of them are almost constantly shifting.
Those shifts, though, trend in one direction — up. Any attempt to calculate the quality of life in America that does not account for those escalating essential costs is a failed effort.
