The hottest inflation in four decades is inflicting financial pain on millions of Americans, but no one has been harder hit by rising consumer prices than the lowest-income households, according to a new analysis published on Tuesday.

Findings from the Penn Wharton Budget Model, a nonpartisan group at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, show that although increases in wage earnings last year offset the higher cost-of-living due to inflation for most households with incomes between $20,000 and $100,000, that was not the case for the poorest Americans. READ MORE