Nearly half of Americans on edge of financial disaster

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 20:47:00 +0000

According to a new report from the Corporation for Enterprise Development, 43.9 percent of U.S. households are living on the "edge of financial collapse." The nonprofit organization reported that in the event of "a job loss, health crisis or other income-depleting emergency," these Americans would lack resources to cover basic expenses at the federal poverty level for just three months.

The report found that even many Americans who would consider themselves middle class, with household incomes of $55,465-$90,000, qualify as “liquid asset poor,” with less than three months' savings for basic expenses. One-quarter (26 percent) of households were found by CFED to be “net worth asset poor,” meaning that the few assets they do have are overwhelmed by their debts.

Salon.com > cfed

Nearly half of Americans on edge of financial disaster