The economy may be chugging along, but many Americans are still struggling to afford a basic middle class life.

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.

More-> http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/17/news/ec ... index.html?

I'm a little confused as to where they got their figures. Are they ONLY including two parent households with children or one parent households with children? What about single people and couples with no children? Out of a population of 325mil+ I find it hard to believe that the numbers are true. There are probably a lot more people and possibly a lower percentage of the entire population. Can someone explain this to me please?

ALICE is a United Way acronym that stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.

ALICE is your child care worker, your parent on Social Security, the cashier at your supermarket, the gas attendant, the salesperson at your big box store, your waitress, a home health aide, an office clerk. ALICE cannot always pay the bills, has little or nothing in savings, and is forced to make tough choices such as deciding between quality child care or paying the rent. One unexpected car repair or medical bill can push these financially strapped families over the edge.

MEET ALICE
ALICE is a hardworking member of the community who is employed yet does not earn enough to afford the basic necessities of life.

...https://www.unitedwayalice.org/home

Thanks John, but I still don't know how that translates to 43% of households and equals only 51mil. which is exactly what the article infers. That's what confuses me.

That's 51 million households, not 51 million people Rose, and that probably adds up to about 43% of people ...

there were 126.22 million households in 2017:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/183 ... in-the-us/

That makes 43% a little over 52 million households. Close enough for government work.

Thanks guys! For some reason the word "households" did not register with me. Makes sense now.