If somebody lost their job today and would not be able to afford to survive for the next three months without finding another job, what would you call that?
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Lacking an emergency fund. If said person couldn’t afford to survive another pay period without finding another job, that would be called living paycheck to paycheck.
Yeah I think the person practicing sophistry might be the guy saying "you may not have the bare minimum recommended emergency fund, but you can't technically claim you're living paycheck to paycheck."
You're hung up on the literal phrase "paycheck to paycheck" and missing the broader point. By your definition, somebody who is paid biweekly and has enough money to cover three weeks of expenses isn't living paycheck to paycheck, but nobody with a brain would say that's a good financial position.
But no, Bernie and Co made a specific claim. And it’s not true. It’s not true that 60% of people live paycheck to paycheck. It’s true that a lot of people have a precarious financial situation, and that’s also bad, but it’s a lie to say that 60% of people live paycheck to paycheck
That number came from a study, not Bernie himself. The study could very well be wrong, but citing a flawed study is not the same thing as lying.
Also, saying 60% of people live paycheck to paycheck when in reality they're just at most two months away from destitution is hardly a major dishonesty.
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Also, saying 60% of people live paycheck to paycheck when in reality they're just at most two months away from destitution is hardly a major dishonesty.