Posted on September 1, 2015 by Aimee Picchi in CBS MoneyWatch CBS MoneyWatch, By Aimee Picchi By one dismal measure, America is joining the likes of Third World countries. The number of U.S. residents who are struggling to survive on just $2 a day has more than doubled since 1996, placing 1.5 million households and 3 million children in this desperate economic situation. That’s according to “$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America,” a book from publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that will be released on Sept. 1.