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Almost Half of US Families Can't Afford Basics Like Rent and Food

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

An Anonymous Coward writes:

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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Original Submission

• Re:Where does the budget go bust? Re:Where does the budget go bust? (Score: 3, Informative) by Sulla on Monday May 21 2018, @02:23PM (2 children)

  by Sulla (5173) on Monday May 21 2018, @02:23PM (#682181) Journal

  I was recently going through my budget cutting out unnecessary things and realized we still had a landline. The cheapest landline in my area was 70/month. Switched the landline over to an old blackberry for $23/month. I think having a phone is pretty important and the poor dont have access to any cheap options, cell phones are often the cheapest.

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  Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam

  Parent

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• Re:Where does the budget go bust? Re:Where does the budget go bust? (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @04:32PM (1 child)

  by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @04:32PM (#682252)

  that's crazy that cell phone plans are cheaper

  i will have to look into that

  do land line number assignments transfer to cell phone lines? i know you can do cell to cell even when switching carriers, but a law made that possible, rather than altruism of the telco industry.

  i dont know about land line portability. it used to be that you had to be in the same 'zone' to keep the prefix if you moved to a new one and tried to get the same number there, but cell phones sure move a lot more than houses do.

  Parent

  • Re:Where does the budget go bust? (Score: 2) by Booga1 on Monday May 21 2018, @09:57PM

    by Booga1 (6333) on Monday May 21 2018, @09:57PM (#682407)

    Yes, in general, you can port landline numbers to wireless carriers. A short description of this is available from the FCC: https://transition.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/numbport.pdf [fcc.gov]
    Of course, there are some exceptions, in particular, rural landline companies can apply for a waiver in order to keep their number pool steady(and of course hopefully retain the customer).

    Parent