A White House open survey of American households indicates that $40 can, in fact, mean a lot in some households. Responders to the White House site offered these perspectives on what the loss would mean to them:
To an individual in Oregon, “Forty dollars means the difference to me in buying gas or paying my electric bill. I am disabled and so I am on a very extremely tight monthly income.”
“The $40 means that my kinds can continue to wear decent clothes and I can afford to give them opportunity to participate in school programs that are not funded through the state and federal funding,” said a Minnesota parent.
A Massachusetts response indicated that the individual would be unable to help a brother in serious need. “The $40 I would lose is money I send to help my brother. He has had a myriad of health problems over the past two years and has only been able to work intermittently. He recently was diagnosed with inoperable cancer and has no health insurance. Some say it isn’t a lot of money, but my brother wouldn’t have food in his refrigerator without it.”
”Forty dollars less per pay check means I will have to pick between my insulin and the water bill. It means never being able to see my doctor, even though I have insurance,” wrote a New Mexico resident.
From Texas came a similar response: “Forty dollars per paycheck allows me to continue to pay co-pays to doctors for necessary medical treatment needed to control debilitating disease.”
For her family of five, the $40 means a home-cooked meal or new clothing for two of her children, explained a writer from Alaska.
The amount is HUGE, according to a California resident. “I am supporting my adult daughter and her four children.”
“This is nearly what a typical electric bill costs me each month,” wrote a Floridian. “Mine usually runs $40-$50, even though I can’t afford heat or air.
The forty dollars per paycheck is what “allows my son to have hot lunches at school,” said a responder in Hawaii.
For many many Americans just a small amount makes a difference to the quality of their lives.