Millions Living Above
The Poverty Line Also Struggle
To Get By 

Huffington Post (09-17-13)--... Forty-five percent of Americans lack basic economic security, or the ability to pay for necessities like housing, utilities, food, health care, child care and transportation, according to a report released Monday by the nonprofit Wider Opportunities for Women. ...

AMERICA’S ECONOMIC INSECURITY RATE RISES TO 45%

“Record income inequality and a growing economic gap is making it harder and harder for women and families to get by in this economy, let alone ever get ahead,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said.       
                                                                                                                                                          “It is time to change America’s workplace policies, and empower women with tools and opportunities to earn their way ahead in the economy, achieve economic security, and get families back on stable ground. That’s the key to a growing economy and a thriving middle class in America.”

Millions of Families Lack the Incomes Required to Pay for Basic Needs and Save,
Face the Additional Challenges of Federal Budget Cuts, Growth of Low-Wage Work

WASHINGTON, DC (09-17-13) – While the federal government debates budget priorities and workers across the country protest low wages, a new report reveals that the nation’s “economic insecurity rate” is 45%—three times the 2012 poverty rate of 15% announced today by the US Census Bureau. The new report, published by Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW), defines economic insecurity as the inability to afford basic needs such as decent housing, basic transportation and food, and finds millions of families are insecure even when household breadwinners are working full time.

According to the report, Living Below the Line: Economic Insecurity and America’s Families, while the poverty rate increased sharply in 2008 and has since remained largely unchanged, the overall insecurity rate has steadily increased, by seven percentage points ... .

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WOW helps women, their families and elders meet basic expenses and reach and maintain economic security across the lifespan. Through advocacy, research and training, WOW's work leads to empowerment, equity and economic security for all.

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Living Below the Line: Economic Insecurity and Older Americans

50% of America's Retired Women are Economically Insecure: WOW New Report

How State Economic Security Policies Measure Up

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity (09-03-13)--Four years after the end of the Great Recession,working families continue to struggle against stagnant incomes, high long-term unemployment, the growth of low-wage jobs, and misguided cuts to safety net programs. Our uneven economic recovery underlines the need for public policies that address these crises, and, due to gridlock and obstructionism in Congress, state governments represent the best opportunity to make needed policy changes....

To better inform the decisions of state lawmakers and advance policies that build economic security, Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) recently released the Economic Security Scorecard, a national report card that grades states on how well their policies promote the financial well-being of low- and moderate-income households. The scorecard looks at state policy choices that comprise the five basic elements of economic security: income, job quality, education and training, public supports, and savings and assets. ...