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News Video: Weekly Topics for Discussion
News Video for: 06/13/2016

31 Percent Of Americans Are Struggling To Get By Financially

A survey from the Federal Reserve says at the end of 2015, many Americans were struggling to make ends meet, even several years after the Great Recession. In a survey of over 50,000 random U.S. adults, 31 percent said they were barely "getting by." That's down from the 38 percent reported by the Fed two years ago, but it still means 76 million Americans are on weak financial footing. According to the report, "22 percent of employed adults indicate they are either working multiple jobs, doing informal work for pay in addition to their main job or both."

Class discussion: Do you know anyone who is struggling to get by financially? Do you know anyone who is working more than one job? Why are nearly a third of American adults having such a hard time? Are their problems being exaggerated, ignored or just used by political leaders? What can be done to help financially struggling families? Should the minimum wage be raised high enough for workers to live on their earnings? Why or why not? What is the “basic universal income” that has been proposed in some European countries? How would it work?

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Common Core State Standard
L.CCS.1/2/3/4 Grades 6-12: Video of a current news event is presented for discussion to encourage student participation, but also inspire the use of evidence to support logical claims using the main ideas of the video. Students must analyze background information provided about a current event, draw out the main ideas and key details, and review different opinions on the issue. Then, students should present their own claims using facts and analysis for support.