GIVE ME YOUR TIRED, YOUR POOR, YOUR HUDDLED MASSES...

This is the first line at a plaque at the basis of the Statue of Liberty in New York. It's from a poem called "the New Colossus" written by Emma Lazarus. For a long time, it symbolized the way the United States of America was open to all people. Today, things have changed. According to a recent survey of government and industry data, nearly half of all Americans lack economic security, meaning they live above the federal poverty  threshold but still do not have enough money to cover housing, food, healthcare and other basic expenses. Currently, the poverty threshold for the United States is an annual income of US$ 22,314 (€ 16,354) for a family of four. 45 percent of U.S. residents live in households that struggle to make ends meet. That breaks down to 39 percent of all adults and 55 percent of all children.

More than four out of 10 adult women live in households that cannot cover basic expenses. More than 60 percent of single women live in economic insecurity. While households with two full-time workers can help boost a family's economic security, 22 percent of adults with children who work full time and have a partner who also has a full-time job cannot cover basic needs. At the same time, 21 percent of homes headed by a college graduate lack economic security