New Report Shows a Connecticut Family of Four Needs to Earn Over $100,000 a Year to Survive

According to ctpublic.org, the United Way has issued a new report stating that a family of four in Connecticut must make over $126,000 yearly to make ends meet. How can that possibly be?

The latest ALICE (Asset-Limited Income-Constrained Employed households) found a family of four, with two adults, one pre-schooler, and one infant, needed to earn $126,018 to cover a basic survival budget. The reason is that unprecedented inflation has affected housing, food costs, and many other essentials, especially over the past two years. According to ramseysolutions.com, these are the five states with the lowest cost of living.

1. Mississippi
2. Oklahoma
3. Kansas
4. Alabama
5. Georgia 

According to the United States 'Poverty Guidelines,' a family of four will be impoverished in 2023 if it earns $30,000 or less. Connecticut recently raised its minimum wage to $15.69 per hour. Multiply a 40-hour work week times $15.69 an hour, and your paycheck equals $627.60 per week BEFORE TAXES. If you receive a paycheck twice a month, your take-home pay is $1,992 per month or $23,904 a year.

I understand that CEOs from profitable companies are under a phenomenal amount of stress to ensure their company's continued success, but the employees keep the company running smoothly on a day-to-day basis. Don't they deserve compensation so they don't have to scrimp by paycheck to paycheck?

According to Statistica Research Department, in 2021, it was estimated that the CEO-to-worker compensation ratio was 398.8 in the United States. This indicates that, on average, CEOs received about 398.8 times the annual average salary of production and nonsupervisory workers in the key industry of their firm.

For example, if your salary is $40,000 annually, your company's CEO's salary could total $15,900,000. What's wrong with this picture?! Check out some of the compensation packages from various company CEOs.

1. Walmart CEO, C. Douglas McMillion - $24.1 million...
2. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan - $29.6 million...
3. Visa Inc. CEO Alfred F. Kelly Jr. - $28.1 million...(what's the interest on your VISA card?)
4. Coca-Cola Company, James Quincey - $22.5 million
5. Ford Motor Company, James D. Farley, Jr. - $21 million

We've seriously considered whether our family can afford to live in Connecticut, especially when we retire. Check out the 20 most affordable places to live in the United States, thanks to U.S News & World Report.