Low pay tops list of Utah $$ concerns

Low wages, lack of health insurance and inadequate savings are the top three financial worries facing Utahns today, according to a study released Wednesday by the United Way of Salt Lake.

One out of three Utahns are now living paycheck to paycheck and have inadequate or no health insurance, the report said. And one out of every four Utahns is struggling with major medical bills, prescription drug costs and mortgage debt.

The report, "Living on the Edge: Utahns' Perspectives on Bankruptcy and Financial Security," concludes that an alarming trend of growing indebtedness, low savings rates and lack of preparation for retirement threaten the financial stability of Utah's middle-income families.

Bill Crim, director of strategic initiatives and public policy for the United Way of Salt Lake, said Utah households earning $40,000 to $60,000 feel less able to live within their means and save money compared to households earning above or below that range.

"What's different in today's economy compared to my parents' economy is that the cost of housing is a much more significant portion of people's household budget," Crim said. "The cost of transportation and health care are much more significant."

Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard law professor and author of "The Two-Income Trap: Why Middle-Class Mothers and Fathers Are Going Broke," contends that the average two-income family earns far more today than did the single-breadwinner family of a generation ago.

"And yet, once they have paid the mortgage, the car payments, the taxes, the health insurance, and the day-care bills, today's dual-income families have less discretionary income," Warren writes. "Married parents are in trouble because they have spent every last penny and then some just to buy a middle-class life for their children."

Warren's analysis is shared by the United Way report, which found that mortgage debt, revolving debt and vehicle debt are weighing heavily on Utah's middle-income families.

"That Utahns are concerned about income, wages and health care costs should not be surprising," the report said. "The fact that average wages in Utah are 82 percent of the national average is commonly known."

The report included a survey of nearly 2,000 Utah households and a focus group study of 55 Utahns who had filed for bankruptcy protection in the past year.

The majority of the 55 Utah bankruptcy filers had one household income, 25 percent were unemployed and another 25 percent held two or more jobs. Ninety percent of the group earned less than $55,000 since filing.