Many families making over $150,000 are living paycheck to paycheck

Question

CNN is claiming that a fifth of households that earn more than $150,000 a year are living paycheck to paycheck. This seems somewhat extreme, can someone fact check?

Answer 1

This is not misinformation. This is the Bank of America analysis that CNN is getting its information from: link. While the percentage seems extreme, Bank of America explains that households with higher incomes might have bigger homes, which means bigger mortgages, insurance costs, property taxes, and utility bills. They might also have sources of income that are less easily accessible, "such as cash from sales of equities paid into brokerage accounts" (3). These important points are brought up in the CNN article. CNN is a mostly factual and credible source, and the author of the article has written multiple other articles for CNN about the economy and financial topics. 

Comments

I really like how you shaped your fact-check. I like how you used a variety of different sources to clarify the fact that families in the world today are having to make a large amount of money to be able to make a living. I also like how you included percentages and statistics to help further prove your fact-check.

Answer 2

Claim: Many families making over $150,000 are living paycheck to paycheck

Fact check: CNN claims that ⅕ of American households making over $150,000 a year are living paycheck to paycheck. The claim is ultimately true, with CNN citing a Bank of America investigation into the topic. They cite that these wealthier households tend to have higher mortgages, insurance costs, property taxes, and utility bills. Another reason CNN cites is that “higher-income people could be taking out bigger mortgages “on the aspiration that they’re going to be getting raises and promotions,” David Tinsley, senior economist at the Bank of America Institute, told CNN”. With the Bank of America Analysis, the claim is definitely true.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/27/economy/wealthy-households-living-paycheck-to-paycheck/index.html

https://institute.bankofamerica.com/content/dam/economic-insights/paycheck-to-paycheck-lower-income-households.pdf

Comments

I like how you brought up that it wasn't CNN just saying this data but that they got it from a trusted source in Bank of America. You also gave links to both the original article and the study from the bank which makes it easier on the readers to fact check themselves. One thing you could maybe add is finding another source that backs up this claim but overall a great fact check.