Nearly Half Of U.S. Families Struggle To Afford Basic Needs

( This map is from unitedwayalice.org.)

The unemployment rate is at a several year low, but that doesn't mean life is great for all U.S. families. Far too many of them struggle to meet the basic needs (like rent and food). That's because a huge sector of the people working at full-time jobs are not paid a livable wage. Sadly, this is not going to be fixed by the Republicans, who control the Congress and the White House. They support giving more to the rich (as their recent tax reform showed), but absolutely refuse to raise the minimum wage (which is still $7.25 an hour in most of this country), or do anything else to help most Americans.

Consider this article by Tami Luhby at CNN Money:

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 studyreleased 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.