For example, the state and Federal governments pay 75 percent of the city's shelter costs, typically $3,200 a month per family.

For the county, the program offers savings in shelter costs and welfare payments.

When they cannot, they pay an extraordinary amount of their income for shelter costs.

A shelter costs, he says, $480 for materials and about $300 for labor.

But there are a few problems with using owners' equivalent rent as a measure of inflation for shelter costs.

"The amount set for shelter cost is totally arbitrary," she said.

Two, shelter costs are growing faster than inflation as a whole.

In April, for instance, there was no increase in shelter costs.

Overall shelter costs rose a modest two-tenths of 1 percent.

The State will have two standard benefits based on high and low shelter costs.