cost_of_doing_business_index
One-call comparative 'cost of operating a business here' read for a US state (with optional metro context). Joins three independent public sources, each a real operating-cost dimension expressed RELATIVE to the US national average (national = 1.00) so the result is a readable, comparable index: L...
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-blackboxfoundry-livedatalink/cost-of-doing-business-index.md
What cost_of_doing_business_index does on Livedatalink
AI agents call cost_of_doing_business_index to retrieve information from Livedatalink without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
metro | string | — | Optional 5-digit CBSA/metro code (e.g. '12420' for Austin, TX) to refine the Census local-context leg and the label. Labor and energy remain state-level. |
state | string | Yes | US state as a 2-letter code (e.g. 'TX', 'CA', 'NY') or 2-digit FIPS (e.g. '48'). Required. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why cost_of_doing_business_index is rated Low
Even though cost_of_doing_business_index only reads data, uncontrolled read access leaks sensitive information and racks up API costs: an agent caught in a retry loop can make thousands of calls a minute without anyone noticing.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs cost_of_doing_business_index safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Livedatalink, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For cost_of_doing_business_index, this is the rule to start with:
cost_of_doing_business_index is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Livedatalink, apply this rule, and every cost_of_doing_business_index call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about cost_of_doing_business_index
One-call comparative 'cost of operating a business here' read for a US state (with optional metro context). Joins three independent public sources, each a real operating-cost dimension expressed RELATIVE to the US national average (national = 1.00) so the result is a readable, comparable index: LABOR cost from BLS QCEW private-sector average annual pay across all industries (keyless), ENERGY cost from EIA retail electricity price for the commercial and industrial sectors (state vs national), and local CONTEXT from US Census ACS median household income, per-capita income, and median gross rent (needs a Census key; degrades gracefully). Returns a headline relative-cost banding (LOW / MODERATE / HIGH cost vs national) from a labor-weighted composite of the labor and energy indices, with each dimension's numbers and its own banding shown. Labor and energy are state-level; a supplied metro refines the context leg and label only. A source that fails is noted, not fatal. Informational, not a guarantee. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Livedatalink MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
cost_of_doing_business_index accepts 2 parameters: metro, state. Required: state. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Livedatalink MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for cost_of_doing_business_index: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Livedatalink. Nothing to install.
cost_of_doing_business_index is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the cost_of_doing_business_index rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for cost_of_doing_business_index. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
cost_of_doing_business_index is provided by the Livedatalink MCP server (https://livedatalink.ai/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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