在高漲的生活開銷擠壓下，陷入貧窮的美國人數創下新高，幾乎每2人就有1人屬於貧戶，或成為以微薄薪水勉強度日的低收入戶。美國傳統基金會資深研究員芮克特表示，經濟衰退讓許多人民丟了工作、收入減少，而他認為要脫離衰退，重要的是必須鼓勵人民去找工作，自給自足，而不是依靠政府的福利。
Under the pressure of rising cost of living, the number of Americans falling into poverty has reached record high: almost 1 in 2 is poor or become the low-income who can barely survive with little amount of salary. According to Robert Rector, a senior researcher of the Heritage Foundation, the economic recession results the high unemployment rate, as well as the decrease of income. For him, to be rid of recession is to encourage the American residents to earn a living by themselves and to be self-sustained so that they can survive without relying on the government’s welfare system.