Almost half of Americans are struggling to pay for their basic needs
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Being alive is cripplingly expensive.
Forty percent of Americans can't afford basic needs, a study by the Urban Institute, an economic think tank, found Tuesday. Adults are still struggling to pay for their groceries, medical bills, and housing expenses, the study, found, even as the unemployment rate under President Trump bottoms out at a mere 3.8 percent .
In anticipation of the government cutting welfare programs, the Urban Institute surveyed over 7,500 people to see whether they experienced certain types of material hardship in 2017, reports CBS News . The results showed that 39.4 percent of adults between 18 and 64 had trouble meeting their basic needs. Most surprisingly, researchers found that many middle-class families struggled with food insecurity and affording housing and utilities, rather than just the poorest Americans.
Low-income households still had the highest reported hardship numbers, but it's now clear that belonging to the middle-class no longer prevents families from the struggles of day to day living.
The Urban Institute polled more than 7,500 American adults, inviting them to complete the survey via email. Responses were collected from Dec. 14, 2017 to Jan. 5, 2018. See more results here .
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How can this be? We all know Trump made America great again. s.
I didn't vote for Trump. I have low patience for stupidity. Like connecting this study to a president in the first year of his term.
But if we're going to be that stupid, then we need to point out that Trump's first year was 1 milllion percent better than Obama's first year.
You may have forgotten that when Obama took office he was handed an economy that was basically a burning sack of shit. So yeah, Trump's first year was a million percent better, economy wise.
I didn't forget. That was the point.
According to trump things became wonderful his first day in office. During the transition period actually.
Citation?
To be fair, things did get a lot better for a lot of people. The stock market rose about 10% between his election and inauguration. I confess I was shocked.
Is this proof that deregulated capitalism is the best economic concept for ending poverty, as many conservatives claim? Take away the wealth of the top 10% and America becomes a much different country.
It is proof that Americans as a people are terrible at managing money.
69% of us have $1000 or less in savings, but Iphones are still flying off the shelves.
I have more than $1000 in savings and I've never owned a single Apple product. Apple makes fashionable toys, but I prefer tools. I'll keep my cheap 2-year-old Android phone.
Me too.
Interestingly enough, we're not struggling to pay for basic needs. Hmmmmmmm..............
My 3YO Android, I think it was $119.99, has the strongest mobile hotspot around. Phones costing 10 times as much can't touch it and that is relates to all this. I do not have any internet provider or cable provide and have not for two years. I operate my TV and my computer both off of that one mobile hot-spot and it works great. I do have two unlimited data phone lines on my T-Mobile account which is $100.00 per month, but no cable TV or paid internet provider or even a wired line of any kind into the place. Admittedly I do not spend much per month compared to most these days but I have everything and have been everywhere, so you really cannot compare me with folks with mortgages and home loans and student debt. I struggled financially up till about my mid thirties despite an education, opportunities and connections not everyone has to call on and I realize I started on third base compared with probably 95% of everyone else. Just having two college educated parents was a huge huge huge advantage back when. The choices we make do make differences. I have friends my age and background who still struggle but when I see how they waste their money, it is no wonder. Eating out all the time kills budgets...
You got that right!
I have watched more idiots fly through new money and watched those that finally get a good job suddenly drop themselves in to huge debt with a car that dropped it's value like the titanic as soon as they turned the key because waiting and saving is so stoopid!
I have one close friend who hated his job and wanted to quit. He and his wife were over for dinner & as the after dinner whiskey got going, I asked the couple about their finances. She makes $90k as a nurse, and he made $60k at his job. When I asked how much they had saved and how long they could go without his paycheck, she replied "nothing, $0". We've been living paycheck to paycheck for so long we haven't been able to save any money.
Paycheck.....to.....paycheck..... One. Hundred. Fifty. Thousand. Dollars. Per. Year.
At one point my inlaws were 4 months behind on their $1k/mo mortgage. He made $120k and she made $24k at the time.
Now, in defense of epistte's position...or what I imagine her position would be.... there are a LOT of genuinely poor people in this country. I also know hundreds of those. During my time as a coach, we came across families with 6 people living in a subsidized 1 bedroom apartment on $12k/yr, and we actually came across it more frequently than one might imagine.
I'm surviving but you don't seem to comprehend the fact that we live as part of a very interdependent society. We can't just look out for ourselves and ignore others. The very definition of economics is the study of the transfer of money in a closed society, so we have policies that work for the entire society instead of just the powerful or politically connected few if they are to be a sucess. Morally we have an obligation to care for others as well, so you can't live as "Ive got mine, screw you".
I have a Moto-G but the battery is dying and it can't be replaced.
And more than a chance that car is leased..."The summer of Mercedes Benz...with $2000 down you can drive the car of your dreams for $399 a month"
And all they see is Mercedes Benz and $399/mo.
6 months later, 2 months after the insurance has lapsed because it tripled from the hoopty they owned, and two months after the last payment the tow truck shows up to a flat tire and kids with shitty diapers climbing all over the car.
Riiiight. Anyone who sees through you "doesn't comprehend". Is this where you start to attempt "kindness" again?
Please cite where I have suggested we do so. What were you saying about "strawmen"?
It's very much "I've got mine, and you are perfectly capable of getting your own, so get on with it."
Being the most obese nation on earth the easy solution is for them to quit buying four times as much food as they need to eat.
Healthy food is expensive but carbs and sugar are cheap.
Americans are way too addicted to convenience.
The article is accurate. More proof that Supply Side Economics is working perfectly and doing exactly as it was 'bred' to do.
The concentrated wealth is consolidating the power. This is why Citizens united is so important to so few.