The personal finance website Wallethub ranks Louisiana as the most stressed state in the nation. Kelley Ray has a look at some of the factors.

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The Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Louisiana kicked off it’s Smoke Free Louisiana Campaign, as Opelousas Representative Dustin Miller filed legislation to ban smoking in bars and casinos statewide. A smoking ban for restaurants has been in effect since 2007. Spokesperson Raegan Carter says Miller’s bill would amend the current law…

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A Governing Magazine Report says Louisianan’s saw a 2.9 percent increase in per capita income last year. The report says the big parts of that gain were the state’s 8.3% increase in benefits received due to the Medicaid expansion, and 2.7 percent increase in property earnigns. Louisiana Department of Labor Executive Director Ava Dejoie says the governor’s healthcare expansion is driving the state’s economic recovery.

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The 2.9 percent was slightly above the national average of 2.4 percent.

Workers saw a one percent increase in pay last year. Dejoie says we could give that number a boost with an increase to the minimum wage.

The inflation rate, or how much less a dollar buys you, rose two percent last year.

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