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posted by janrinok on Monday May 21 2018, @08:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the richest-country-in-the-world dept.

http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/17/news/economy/us-middle-class-basics-study/index.html

"Nearly 51 million households don't earn enough to afford a monthly budget that includes housing, food, child care, health care, transportation and a cell phone, according to a study released Thursday by the United Way ALICE Project. That's 43% of households in the United States."

The figure includes the 16.1 million households living in poverty, as well as the 34.7 million families that the United Way has dubbed ALICE -- Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. This group makes less than what's needed "to survive in the modern economy."

"Despite seemingly positive economic signs, the ALICE data shows that financial hardship is still a pervasive problem," said Stephanie Hoopes, the project's director.

California, New Mexico and Hawaii have the largest share of struggling families, at 49% each. North Dakota has the lowest at 32%.

Many of these folks are the nation's child care workers, home health aides, office assistants and store clerks, who work low-paying jobs and have little savings, the study noted. Some 66% of jobs in the US pay less than $20 an hour.

See also: https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2017/11/09/the-3-richest-americans-hold-more-wealth-than-bottom-50-of-country-study-finds/


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday May 21 2018, @01:26PM (5 children)

    You hear that sound? That's am mp3 of the smallest violin in the world playing just for them.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @02:44PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @02:44PM (#682197)

    You hear that sound? That's am mp3 of the smallest violin in the world playing just for them.

    All of them?

    It's a step further than I'm going to blame individuals for predicaments entirely beyond their control.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday May 21 2018, @03:04PM (3 children)

      Entirely beyond their control? Withdrawal may not be pleasant but dealing with discomfort is part of life. If you lack the ability to do so, you lack the ability to live. Being as I have zero children, I'm fairly certain "they" are not my responsibility to support even to the age of majority, much less their entire lives. I'll help a family member/friend/neighbor out when I can but anyone telling me I'm morally obligated to pay someone I've never met's way through life can go fuck themselves.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @03:31PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @03:31PM (#682222)

        Entirely beyond their control? Withdrawal may not be pleasant but dealing with discomfort is part of life. If you lack the ability to do so, you lack the ability to live.

        You're not seeing it...

        I'll help a family member/friend/neighbor out when I can but anyone telling me I'm morally obligated to pay someone I've never met's way through life can go fuck themselves.

        I'd make assistance easier to get, bundle it with counselling and kick people off after 3 months. Entrapping someone into financial dependence on welfare is just as immoral as the dealer hooking them on heroine.

        • (Score: 3, Informative) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday May 21 2018, @08:01PM (1 child)

          Making a central welfare system available at all is a highly dubious proposition. I mean, look at all the good doing so has done for the black community. They've gone from ~80% nuclear families to ~80% single parent families in the span of two generations, with all the poverty and such that statistically comes with single parent homes.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @09:36PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @09:36PM (#682399)

            Yeah, that couldn't have had anything to do with Nixon's culture war. Nope, not a thing. It must be all the things you're told to hate and revile! Oh lookit that, those things match up nicely with what the really rich folks want.

            asshat