“…
Millions more kids live in households that are just barely scraping by. Around 35 million kids—nearly half of all in the U.S.—lived in households under the line that many economists view as the bottom rung of the middle class, according to 2023 census data compiled by Luke Shaefer, a University of Michigan economist who studies child poverty. That number of children is the highest in five years, Shaefer said.
For a family of two adults and two kids, the dividing line is a maximum net income of about $75,000, including government benefits. …”
“…Low-income earners spend a greater portion of their money on housing and food, which have both seen prices rise dramatically, noted a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Some working families in Broome County are now leaning more on public assistance for help. But if their salaries increase, even slightly, their eligibility for state and federal assistance could be reduced.
…
Felica Allen, a 39-year-old nursing assistant and single mom, works the graveyard shift in the emergency room at UHS Wilson Medical Center near Binghamton before returning home each morning to care for her four children, ages 3, 12, 14 and 17. A fifth, 22, moved out in September.
Allen’s $20 an hour salary rose last year to $22.90, which amounted in 2024 to about $39,000 for the hours she worked, including bonuses and overtime. That’s more money than she’s ever made and not far above the federal government’s supplemental poverty threshold for her family size.
It still doesn’t come close to covering her expenses, she said, and her financial situation has worsened despite earning more.
… In March, she decided to reduce her official weekly work hours from 32 to 26 so she could get back $220 in food benefits. She has managed to take on extra shifts when they pop up at the hospital, to make up the difference in salary.…”