In 2019, gas cost $2.69 a gallon, eggs were $1.50 a dozen, and rent averaged $1,300 a month. Today, those same essentials cost dramatically more, and American households need $15,400 more per year just to maintain the same standard of living, according to a new Common Sense Institute analysis. Affordability declined in 29 states, with Rhode Island suffering the sharpest drop, where households are spending 8.4% more of their income on rising costs. Massachusetts followed at 8.1% and California at 7.1%. More: rltor.cm/EZIDbS