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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:One more time, everyone (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @04:57PM

  by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 21 2018, @04:57PM (#682265)

  In Internet slang, a troll (/troʊl, trɒl/) is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting quarrels or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory,[1] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a newsgroup, forum, chat room, or blog) with the intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[2] or of otherwise disrupting normal, on-topic discussion,[3] often for the troll's amusement.

  While many things COULD be trolling they aren't always. It is the intent that matters here, so did the OP actually mean to accuse boomers of creating the fucked up situation we're in? Or did the OP just want to troll everyone with the accusation? My guess is they are serious about the boomers being at fault, and I must say the cultural trend does seem damning. We went from a nation of producers to one of financial manipulators and hard core "fuck you I got mine" meritocrats.

  As with any generalization it would be wrong to go around blaming every older person for today's problems and it goes beyond just a single generation. The big reason you see anger against the Boomers is because the Boomers as a group love to trash the kids these days without accepting responsibility for what the part their generation played in creating this fucked up state.

  Parent

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