“…more than four of 10 Michigan households are being left behind.”
Lou Glazer, president of Michigan Future, authored an op-ed today in MLive entited “Make good-paying jobs a Michigan priority.” It begins:
Michigan's unemployment rate is at historic lows. Good news indeed. But far too many Michigan households today are struggling to make ends meet.
It makes no sense for Michigan to celebrate a strong economy when more than four of 10 Michigan households are being left behind.
It is far past time for the state's economic policymakers and practitioners to make rising income for all their mission. We need policy and programs that are focused on good-paying jobs, not just a job.
The Michigan Association of United Ways reports that in 2017, 43 percent of Michigan households were unable to pay for housing, childcare, food, transportation, health care, a cell phone and taxes. That is 1.7 million households. They call these households ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed).
This is an all Michigan challenge. There are no counties in the state with less than 30 percent of households unable to pay for basic necessities. Not only is ALICE geographically diverse, it also is prevalent across age, race and ethnicity.
Maybe most alarming, as the economy has recovered from the Great Recession, the proportion of households unable to pay for the basics has grown. In 2017, 1.66 million Michigan households were unable to pay for the basics compared to 1.57 million in 2010.