Working Hard Yet Still Falling Behind: The Hidden Face of Financial Hardship in NJ

Imagine working full time — maybe more than full time — and still not being able to cover the basics. No luxuries, no savings. Just housing, food, childcare, healthcare, and transportation. For nearly 40% of New Jersey households, that's not a hypothetical. It's daily life.The problem, in part, is how we measure hardship. The Federal Poverty Level — the number that determines eligibility for food assistance, housing vouchers, and more — was created during the Johnson administration and has never been fundamentally updated. In New Jersey, it sits at roughly $29,000 for a family of four. But the actual cost of meeting basic needs in the Garden State? More than $111,000. That gap is where ALICE lives.ALICE — Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — is a framework developed right here in New Jersey that gives a name and a measure to the millions of working households who earn above the poverty line but still can't make ends meet. More than 1.3 million Garden State families fall into this category.In this episode, host Aaron Turner sits down with Dr. Stephanie Hoopes, one of the architects of the ALICE framework, and Justin Kiczek of the Kirby Foundation to explore what the data reveals — and what it demands of employers, policymakers, funders, and all of us in response.Learn more: State of ALICE Report: https://unitedforalice.org/new-jerseyUnited Way of Northern NJ: www.unitedwaynnj.org/aliceFM Kirby Foundation: www.fmkirbyfoundation.org