Data Show 40 Percent of US Households May Become a Permanent Underclass

Some call them the “working poor,” others refer to them as the “forgotten Americans.” An ongoing series of studies sponsored by the charitable nonprofit United Way labels this group with the acronym ALICE, which stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These three designations represent the many Americans who, despite their best efforts, are struggling and often fail to meet their monthly expenses. LeeAnn, a food bank volunteer in Port Huron, Michigan, told The Epoch Times a working couple that comes in regularly for food is living in their car because they cannot afford an apartment and the expenses that go with it....