By Julia Pierrepont III
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- "They're not wrong," Los Angeles resident Tom S. told Xinhua when discussing a Chinese social media phrase that has gone viral recently: "Kill Line," a term he said accurately captures how many Americans live on the financial edge.
"There is no financial cushion for us. I make about 100,000 U.S. dollars per year, but the cost of living is so high now that my family is one paycheck away from a total disaster that could leave us homeless. We are the new working poor. It's insane," Tom said.
The phrase "Kill Line," sometimes translated as "death line," originated in video game slang. It refers to the point at which a character's health is so low that a single strike can end the game.
Online, it has become a metaphor for people whose financial resilience is so thin that one disruption can "finish them off." The term captures the idea that large numbers of people in the United States are one unexpected shock -- an illness, job loss, accident, or bill -- away from economic collapse.
An American blogger described struggling to live in San Francisco despite earning 450,000 U.S. dollars a year. The post first circulated on the lifestyle platform Red Note, then moved to Weibo, a social media platform in China, where users discussed it under hashtags referencing the "U.S. Kill Line."
The discussion is gaining traction amid growing awareness of financial precarity in the United States, where roughly 67 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, according to PNC Bank's 2025 Financial Wellness report.
Chinese netizens frequently contrasted American fragility with their own experience, finance columnist Yu Zixin said, adding that while efforts to improve the formal social safety net are still underway in China, lower housing costs, state healthcare coverage, and strong family support networks often provide a buffer against total collapse.
According to Yu, many Chinese struggle to understand the "Kill Line" because the country maintains a basic minimum-income guarantee.
"Minimum income guarantee sounds pretty good to me right now," Tom said ruefully.
"It's just wrong that we have billionaires running the country who don't know or care how hard it is for ordinary middle-class guys like me to make ends meet," Gregory P, a contractor in Sunland, Los Angeles, told Xinhua.
A Bankrate survey found that 59 percent of Americans could not cover a 1,000-U.S.-dollar emergency expense. These figures have drawn intense interest in China, where Americans were long viewed by many as broadly prosperous and the United States as a model of economic success.
"America is very successful," Keith K., another Angelino, told Xinhua, "But that's not the same thing as stable."
The "Kill Line" discussed on Chinese social media has a rough counterpart in the United States: the ALICE threshold, short for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, which describes households that earn too much to qualify for assistance but lack sufficient savings to weather disruptions.
Once households fall below that line, even small shocks can trigger cascading consequences, Stephanie Hoopes, national director at United For ALICE, noted in the group's 2025 annual report, saying "ALICE families are especially vulnerable during natural disasters and times of economic uncertainty and yet often feel unseen or left behind."
United For ALICE is a New Jersey-based U.S. research organization driving innovation, research and action to improve life across the country for ALICE. Its annual report drew from 2023 data.
The report found that "while 13 percent of all households in the country lived in poverty in 2023, the new research shows that 29 percent -- more than twice as many -- were ALICE."
United Way, a leading nationwide charitable organization that supports many Americans in need, runs United For ALICE and co-authored the annual report.
A United Way employee, who asked for anonymity, told Xinhua last Wednesday that there had been a spike in Americans they refer to as "ALICE workers," who are "essential to our economy and our lives, continue to be overlooked and under-counted by traditional poverty measures."
"ALICE represents hardworking families who have been left behind -- unable to afford the basics of housing, food, child care, health care, technology, and transportation. Despite working hard as our nation's childcare educators, home health aides, and cashiers, ALICE lives paycheck to paycheck and is one emergency away from falling into financial ruin," explained the United Way employee.
"It's a very concerning and growing problem that needs to be addressed," she added.
Beth H., who works in the film industry, belongs to ALICE. She told Xinhua recently, "I'm married with two kids, but when I was out sick for over two months, we lost our house and had to leave LA."
"Americans have lost our close family ties, so, if disaster strikes, your family isn't there for you the way they are in most other countries," insurance worker Sandy S. said.
Hoopes told an interview with the Business Insider news website that ALICE is disproportionate for Black and Hispanic households, people with disabilities, younger or older households, and single-parent households with children.
These distinctive households are more likely to be below the ALICE threshold. "[M]ost of those jobs don't pay enough to cover the costs," said Hoopes. "So it's a mathematical equation, and it's a structural problem. It's not that folks aren't trying hard." ■