Post by cjm on Nov 5, 2015 18:10:49 GMT
Business
The Growing Ranks of America’s High-Earning Poor
Why do so many Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck despite earning a decent income?
Shannon Stapleton / Reuters
Allison Schrager Nov 3, 2015
There’s a growing segment of the American population that earns a decent salary but lives paycheck-to-paycheck: the income-rich and asset-poor.
Empty bank balances are often associated with those on the lowest rungs of the income ladder. But many members of America’s upper-middle class have almost no emergency cushion and are woefully unprepared for retirement. And years into the recovery, they are still struggling, leaving the entire economy vulnerable.
The median household income in America is about $55,000. To earn more than that is to do relatively well, particularly in low-cost areas. That’s what they bring in, but what do they really have?
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