People From Different Households Were Given $100 To Spend On Groceries, Here's What They Bought

For some of these people, $100 means the difference between surviving and going hungry. Meanwhile, for others in a better financial position, the money is something that can be spent on luxury foods or even a night out. Anyone who’s ever tried to fall asleep with their stomach rumbling and their thoughts jumping to food will know that even a few extra dollars can be precious.

Now, this doesn’t mean that nobody can have fun or that we’re supposed to get angry at others for spending their hard-earned money how they see fit. However, it does highlight the inequalities in society. For instance, in 2019, the US Census Bureau found that the gap between the rich and the poor—income inequality—had grown to be the biggest in 50 years.

However, there are some positives, too. Statista shows that the number of Americans living below the poverty line had shrunk from 38 million in 2018 to just below 34 million in 2019. There’s also been a downward trend in Americans living in absolute poverty since 2014.

But (and it’s a big ‘but’) we shouldn’t rush to celebrate because we don’t have concrete numbers about the situation during the Covid-19 pandemic.

It had greatly affected unemployment levels during the spring of 2020 (though they rebounded in the summer) and the US economic situation is still up for grabs with lockdowns continuing for the foreseeable future even with mass vaccinations being rolled out worldwide.