Posted on 09/02/2018 9:33:46 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
By virtually any yardstick, the U.S. economy is doing great. Unemployment is near a two-decade low. The stock market is strong. Corporate profits are at record highs.
Yet a report out this week finds that almost half of Americans are having trouble paying for basic needs such as food and housing.
The Urban Institute, a left-leaning Washington think tank, surveyed more than 7,500 adults about their experience making ends meet. It found that about 40% of people ages 18 to 64 faced some sort of hardship last year.
“It’s certainly surprising and disconcerting that so many people are having difficulty meeting their basic needs,” said Michael Karpman, a research associate at the Urban Institute and coauthor of the report.
“What we found is that a lot of people have to devote much of their income to fixed expenses like rent or healthcare,” he told me. “If they’re hit with a large, unexpected expense, they simply can’t cover it.”
The stats become more troubling the deeper you drill down. More than 35% of families with at least one working adult reported difficulty meeting at least one basic need last year.
Almost a quarter of Americans experienced food insecurity, which is to say they didn’t always know if they’d be able to eat if they were hungry.
A staggering 18% faced issues paying medical bills, and nearly as large a percentage reported skipping treatment for an ailment because they couldn’t afford it.
Slightly more than 10% of Americans missed a rental or mortgage payment. Thirteen percent couldn’t pay a utility bill.
While much of these economic woes were concentrated among lower-income households, the Urban Institute found that many middle-class families also struggled to pay their bills.
“About 20% of middle-class people are having trouble, mostly with healthcare,” Karpman said.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Funny, I don’t remember the LA Slimes saying anything about this when Obama was in charge and this was actually a real problem.
Must have big screen tv, cable ESPN and iPhone first. Then mortgage and car payment on bmw. Spend first save later.
Well, my own stoopidness is a major contributor in that. Just sayin’.
The LA Slimes is running one of many articles we’ll see this fall of people struggling despite the great economy. So predictable. They have to talk down the prosperous financial times in this country to prop up their Democrat buddies!
Then Jerry Brown ought to cancel his train to nowhere and his protection of the Delta-Smelt, so farmers can be productive again.
Especially the lazy, dependent on government handout types and thanks to the NEA uneducated stupid ones.
Stop supporting illegals and help out our own!
OK, then how come the Food Stamp Program has Four Million LESS People claiming Benefits?
F t L A T
Disgusting B. S. on parade for decades.
Just like THE HOMELESS PROBLEM was all but invisible while Obama was POTUS.
Yeah.
Eight years of ‘the new normal’ was the cause. Libs turn a blind eye because they do not want to credit President Trump with a complete turnaround in the economy, jobs, construction, etc.
Notice how the newsies have come to ignore that ‘new normal’ they tried to cram down our throats. It seldom even gets a mention anymore — and won’t unless the voters vote in another socialist/Marxist Liberal.
“Just like THE HOMELESS PROBLEM was all but invisible while Obama was POTUS.”
That is because Obama WANTED the welfare load on the U.S. taxpayer and all the Democrat VOTES that come along with it. This is not going to change until the USA stops welfare as an acceptable way of life HERE.
If the LA Times actually Cared, they’d be running editorials to get rid of the remaining 21% Federal Consumption (Corp. Income) Tax.
first of all, 40% isn’t “half”, and second of all, if I understand the survey, that “about 40%” is actually 37%, which is closer to a third than a half ... in other words, just more fake news ...
Quit living beyond your income or wages and start saving. Take responsibility and do not look to government to solve your problems. That is why our nation is in such a mess financially.
I wonder if they included any of the residents on Obama Row to see how they feel. Just go anywhere south of the 101 to the 10 and between Alameda and Main St, that is Obama’s Legacy
To be honest, wages have been stagnant for a long time, especially for blue collar and service industries yet prices on most everything have doubled or tripled in the same period.
It will take some time but things will get better. Employers are starting to have to compete for employees. Very recently, there were dozens of people competing for a single position so they didn’t have to offer much in the way of pay and benefits.
Another thing that will help is when the health care situation is fixed. Trump helped in that area with the elimination of the mandate. A lot of places eliminated full time positions to avoid the obamacare costs.
25 hours a week at or near minimum wage don’t do much. $8x25=$200
Where were the surveys taken? Together, my wife and I have a six figure income. Yet if we rented a place in Manhattan we couldn’t afford food and some other necessities.
Our same salaries in San Antonio and we can afford pretty much anything we want. And that includes carrying a mortgage if we chose.
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