Economic security is low
Economic security is low
A report released today said that more than one in five Americans saw at least a quarter of their available household income vanish in the Great Recession, yet lacked a sufficient financial cushion, CNNMoney.com reported.
The situation has left them economically insecure, according to the report, which updates an economic security index created by Jacob Hacker, a political science professor at Yale University.
More than 20 percent of the nation was in this condition in the three years spanning 2008 to 2010, up from 14.3 percent in 1986. About 62 million Americans faced economic insecurity last year, according to the report.
The Great Recession also prompted deep losses among the insecure, with the median drop in income for this group hitting a record 46.4 percent in 2009.
Hacker, who launched the Economic Security Index with a team of researchers last year, looks at three measures to determine insecurity: major income loss, out-of-pocket medical expenses and lack of savings. He considers available income to be money left over after paying health-care costs and debts.
The index, which measures annual changes in income, is based primarily on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
A report released today said that more than one in five Americans saw at least a quarter of their available household income vanish in the Great Recession, yet lacked a sufficient financial cushion, CNNMoney.com reported.
The situation has left them economically insecure, according to the report, which updates an economic security index created by Jacob Hacker, a political science professor at Yale University.
More than 20 percent of the nation was in this condition in the three years spanning 2008 to 2010, up from 14.3 percent in 1986. About 62 million Americans faced economic insecurity last year, according to the report.
The Great Recession also prompted deep losses among the insecure, with the median drop in income for this group hitting a record 46.4 percent in 2009.
Hacker, who launched the Economic Security Index with a team of researchers last year, looks at three measures to determine insecurity: major income loss, out-of-pocket medical expenses and lack of savings. He considers available income to be money left over after paying health-care costs and debts.
The index, which measures annual changes in income, is based primarily on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
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