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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAlmost half of Americans can't pay for their basic needs
Four in 10 Americans are struggling to pay for their basic needs such as groceries or housing, a problem even middle-class households confront, according to a new study from the Urban Institute.
Despite the U.S. economy being near full employment, 39.4 percent of adults between 18 and 64 years old said they experienced at least one type of material hardship in 2017, according to the study, which surveyed more than 7,500 adults about whether they had trouble paying for housing, utilities, food or health care.
The findings surprised researchers at the Urban Institute, who had expected to find high levels of hardship among poor Americans but hadn't predicted so many middle-class families would also struggle to meet their basic needs. That may illustrate that a middle-class income "is no guarantee" of protection from hardship, said Michael Karpman, research associate at the Urban Institute's health Policy Center and a co-author of the report.
Against the backdrop of President Donald Trump's boasting about low unemployment and strong economic growth, the research adds nuance to the problems facing American families. Middle-class households tend to struggle with paying their health care bills rather than utilities, for instance. Health care costs have outpaced wages and inflation, pushing more Americans into high-deductible plans, which can backfire when serious health problems arise.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/almost-half-of-americans-cant-pay-for-basic-needs/
Crutchez_CuiBono
(7,725 posts)thats a bold face lie. And the numbers that say that should be stricken from the dialog. BULL_SHIT. Full employment where? Tell me any town and Ill find you unemployed wn an hour. Its a god damn lie.
Achilleaze
(15,543 posts)dembotoz
(16,826 posts)Doing better now
elleng
(131,074 posts)A major part of this means recognizing why there are so many 'trump' voters, who want/need change so hang with a carnival barker who promises change, notwithstanding 'near full employment.'
Pretending we're all fine just won't get it.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)Once upon a time, when an economy reached "full employment," that meant that workers were in the driver's seat, and employers had to raise employee pay to get and keep enough workers to keep the business going. For some reason, that's no longer the case. Even though worker productivity has gone up by leaps and bounds since 1980, wages have remained practically stagnant over the last 40 years. A lot of wealth is being created by labor and nearly none of it is going into the pockets of the workers.
The fatcats want more, and the big fool says, "Push on."
former9thward
(32,068 posts)That is why wages have stayed largely flat. The gains are not being made by human labor.