Here's how inflation has ratcheted up the cost of basics like housing and food for families across the US

Tech Insider : Economy
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Inflation has hit essentials like food and housing harder than the broader Consumer Price Index.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

YouTube star MrBeast doubles down on cash giveaways with $200,000 donation to a universal basic income program

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy
MrBeast
Jimmy "MrBeast" Donaldson.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

America's poverty line is letting millions slip through the cracks — here's how we could fix it

Tech Insider : Economy, Politics, Economy
Hands breaking a line graph representing a poverty trend
Many argue the poverty line is an outdated measurement. But it may not go away anytime soon.

Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

A retired couple gets $23 monthly from SNAP and uses credit cards to buy groceries. They worry about going hungry.

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Politics
Woman pushing a shopping cart
Millions of low-income families are on SNAP but struggle to afford the full cost of groceries.

SDI Productions / Getty Images

A boomer who lives on Social Security worries she won't get hired because she can't afford a car: 'I don't even have $1 in my wallet.'

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Politics
An older woman sitting on a bench, facing away from the camera
Virginia Hambrick, 66, (not pictured) and her husband live on her $1,615 monthly Social Security income. They struggle to afford basic necessities like rent, groceries, and healthcare.

blackCAT / Getty Images

South Africa's cash giveaway plan is not universal basic income, experts say

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Politics
south african rand
Nelson Mandela features on the 100 rand note.

REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

How to know if you're an ALICE: You're barely paying your bills but don't qualify for government assistance

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Politics
Parents with a baby sitting in their kitchen
More Americans are becoming ALICEs — asset-limited, income-constrained, and employed.

Westend61 / Getty Images

A Gen Xer who barely lives above the poverty line sells plasma to cover her rent because she doesn't qualify for government assistance: 'There's a lot of praying and just hanging on.'

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Politics
Woman donating blood
Lisa Kelley (not pictured) is low-income but does not qualify for government assistance. She sometimes sells her plasma to make ends meet.

WC.GI / Getty Images

Here's how much money you need to make to be middle class in each US state

Tech Insider : Economy
New York City skyline.
New York has the lowest percentage of households in the middle class.

TTstudio/Shutterstock

A low-income millennial mom was evicted from her apartment but isn't 'homeless enough to get help'

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Politics
Melissa in a cap and gown
Melissa Hedden's household income is above the poverty line, but she struggles to afford housing and healthcare.

Courtesy of Melissa Hedden

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