Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Joe Biden to the rescue, and it’s low-income families first. The rich will be fine.

Commentary, Baltimore Sun

A few years ago, United Way conducted a national survey to get a more precise measure of financial hardship than the one maintained by Washington. Within the survey’s results you can find a good explanation for the wide popularity of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.

Using data from each state and specific counties — the minimum costs of housing, child care, health care, food, taxes and transportation — United Way determined the number of households headed by people with jobs but not enough income to support their families. The survey called them ALICE households, for “asset limited, income constrained, employed.” The short version is “working poor.”

Read the story here