Two Thirds of all Americans would struggle to cover a $1,000 crisis
By Thom Hartmann A...
A new poll shows that two-thirds of all Americans would struggle to cover $1,000 crisis.
According to this poll by the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, this type of crisis spans all incomes.
Three-quarters of people in households making less than $50,000 a year and two-thirds of those making between $50,000 and $100,000 would have trouble coming up with $1,000 to cover an unexpected bill.
Even for the country's wealthiest 20 percent — households making more than $100,000 a year — 38 percent say they would have at least some difficulty coming up with $1,000.
William R. Emmons, a senior economic adviser at the Center for Household Financial Stability at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis said, "Many families are still struggling with debt from the housing bubble and borrowing boom.
And the recent economic stresses make it much more likely families are going to be fighting basic financial issues.”
Comments
#2
John Birch Society (daddy koch) thought Eisenhower was a commie.
#3
Is anyone surprised by the poll results!
#4
And that billionaire <Meg Whitman did a trashing job of what Ebay use to be
#5
Facism... pure and simple!
What we all fought against in world wars
SHAME
#6
I am thankful that I can afford your subscription. I don't afford another. You educate which is a tremendous contribution to the poor and working class. I have an MBA, a pension and security but I learn from you when I listen.
#7
Im up at 4am everyday and work 13 hour days and work at a Union job for over ten years and god willing another 16. My 401k is the biggest joke their is. I will never have enough to retire. Thank god we have no kids. I have no way of providing for my wife and I to the same standard of living that we scrap by now at. We eat out once a month and have the cheapest house we could find with the lowest taxes and have both have cheap used cars. In our retirement years I cannot retire and exspect to not to work unless we suffer financially. I cant not see this country collaspsing. You cant push people that far and exspect any different. Yet we could spend an extra unexspected thousand it would hurt.
#8
Much of the financial struggle Americans face can be blamed on free trade. Outsourcing jobs to countries without good labor laws promulgates a global race to the bottom, with only a relative few aggressive and greedy individuals winning. Labor unions remain the solution for the many to temper the greed of the few.
#9
I've been coming down hard on Bernie or Bust'ers and the NeverHillary crowd for the last few weeks.
I want to reiterate that I understand where you're coming from and why. I've voted 3rd party in outrage many times. After decades of doing so, I've concluded that it is an ineffective tactic. In the larger sense of making long term change, I totally concede that voting for the 'lesser evil' is ineffective as well. For the purpose of this election, my point has been that it is the best we can do and although unsatisfactory as far as systemic change is concerned, it has real short term benefit in respect to preventing the greater evil. My point today is about what can be done long term to bring about change. I have come to think that the ballot box is not the solution, at least not by itself. Neither is violence, of course, and street theater will never do it. I think that the fault in my thinking and I project others' is that we are looking to taking the reins of government to bring about change. I think it may be time to turn that upside down. Maybe the solution is to create democratic socialism in an extra-governmental form and create a political movement around that. In other words, create an alternative socialist economy with an associated political movement and democratic structure independent of any state sponsorship. That way perhaps we can start solving real problems for real people right now without waiting for the political victory that may never come. But also doing so may increase the likelihood of such victory down the road because tying political action directly to economic benefits may increase the effectiveness of political recruitment and loyalty in ways that current organization does not. This would be similar to union organizing but the weakness in that movement has always been that unions tend to be dependent on capital even as they oppose it. Common interest with management can put union leaders or even rank and file in bed with corporate management increasing public cynicism and disillusionment. So in short, I'm talking about workers' cooperatives. Full disclosure - I have NO IDEA how to make this happen. I'm hoping you do! But parallel to that, I would want to see the new movement Bernie has started continue to work on changing the Democratic Party between elections to limit state harm and create as beneficial an environment as possible for real change. And as I've said elsewhere (parroting Thom Hartmann) start by adopting Tea Party tactics - become Democratic precinct committee people - and take the party back from the corporatists.
#10
Face it, the vast majority of Americans suffer from a serious lack of income to cover basic day-to-day, week-to-week and month-to-month living expenses, and essentially no significant, or zero savings necessary to cover emergency expenses and to provide retirement security.
We need to reform the system to empower EVERY child, woman, and man to secure new income sources, namely wealth-creating, income-producing capital assets embodied in viable growth corporations. This can be accomplished by empowering EVERY child, woman and man to acquire personal OWNERSHIP stakes in the FUTURE formation of wealth-creating, income-producing capital assets using INSURED, INTEREST-FREE capital credit, repayable out of the FUTURE earnings of the investments, without the requirement of PAST SAVINGS, a job or any income from any source. Instead their solution is solely viewed interns of raising the minimum wage, which continues the serfdon status of the vast majority of Americans now employed in minimum wage sectors of the economy. A boost in the minimum wage is not the solution to economic inequality. Widespread, universal personal wealth-creating, income-producing capital asset property OWNERSHIP is, and is the true path to inclusive prosperity, inclusive opportunity, and inclusive economic justice.
Support the Agenda of The Just Third Way Movement at http://foreconomicjustice.org/?p=5797, http://www.cesj.org/resources/articles-index/the-just-third-way-basic-principles-of-economic-and-social-justice-by-norman-g-kurland/, http://www.cesj.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/jtw-graphicoverview-2013.pdf and http://www.cesj.org/resources/articles-index/the-just-third-way-a-new-vision-for-providing-hope-justice-and-economic-empowerment/.
Support Monetary Justice at http://capitalhomestead.org/page/monetary-justice.
Support the Capital Homestead Act (aka Economic Democracy Act) at http://www.cesj.org/learn/capital-homesteading/, http://www.cesj.org/learn/capital-homesteading/capital-homestead-act-a-plan-for-getting-ownership-income-and-power-to-every-citizen/, http://www.cesj.org/learn/capital-homesteading/capital-homestead-act-summary/ and http://www.cesj.org/learn/capital-homesteading/ch-vehicles/.
See my article entitled "The Solution To America's Economic Decline" at http://www.nationofchange.org/solution-america-s-economic-decline-1367588690.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
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At Mondragon - both the mountain and the cooperative city - in Spain (written about in "Threshold" book)
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Its shameful We saved while we had a 401 K > Good thing since as a widow & caretaker I am living off that savings. My husband's hard won pension dropped to
$ 650.00 month / 1/4 what was promised during his working years He had to drop out of the labor union , when he was made Plant Supt . Up at 5 am each day. 10 hour days . I worked too. We did the 'right' thing.. worked hard , saved a decent amount , Social Security , savings & pension would' see us through !! NOT I get so sick when I think about Wall St getting bailed out after their greed, lies cheating .leading to global crash _TARP. CEO's get 20-30 million after leaving their Co..whether they did a great job or NOT. What has America come to ? GOP counts on voters Ignorance & fear to gain power. President Eisenhower would be considered a flaming liberal today ! The Last decent GOP president . NO matter how crude, outrageous, vulgar Trump gets The more folks seem to love him !!! Imagine Trumps finger on nuclear button when he gets PI$$ed off