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Rent is like 50% of my income currently and I'm trapped because nowhere charges less for the same space and I don't qualify for rentals without a guarantor that I no longer have. At this age, my parents were in their 3rd house on a single income with 3 kids.

"a family of four needs $136,500 a year"

I could see that, more likely in more expensive areas. You aren't getting anywhere in New York or San Francisco on $140K.

Like always, how far your money goes depends on multiple factors. 140k in the Midwest alone means you're living comfortably. Like all bills paid off, a lot of extra money for leisure, etc.

If you have a family and live in the bay area, then it's not that much. I personally wouldn't put it at poverty, but it'd be somewhat close to being paycheck to paycheck (assuming you still need to pay mortgage and whatnot)

I highly recommend that you read the actual substack article.

The claim is based around how the original poverty line was the cost of food multiplied by 3. This assumes that food is 33% of your spending and that your other expenses are approximately the other 67%.

The $140k value is based around the fact that the ratio has shifted immensely. Food is cheap in the US relative to the other goods/services required to live in society. If you take the new ratio and extrapolate it out, the multiplier is over 10x the cost of food to account for the other components of spending.

Even if you want to debate the actual number itself. The poverty line is laughable and anyone living at it is legitimately destitute, not just in "casual poverty"

That doesn't even buy a single politician.

I live alone in a moderately low cost of living area making about 52k take home. With no extenuating expenses related to health I can put away a hundred or two a month after rent, gas, utilities, food and car maintenance (I drive and fix old shit myself rather than make a car payment). But that is literally all I can do. If I had a second person to support or was in any other area I'd be underwater quick.

This is highly dependant on where you live, as has been said before.

Yes. The people saying no are no longer temporarily embarrassed millionaires but temporarily embarrassed middle class. Have or have not, and 140k is have not given inflation, healthcare, education, food, rent/mortgage, energy etc.

If $140,000 is the poverty line can I please make poverty wages?

Well shit thats a little Less than 3x what I make lol. 💀💀💀💀

The substack is well worth the read.

Which method does the U.S. use to calculate its poverty line?

“laughable,” arguing that you can’t declare the majority of Americans impoverished because the suburbs they choose to live in are expensive, which is what Green did when he used the middle class suburb of Caldwell, New Jersey, as his median.

"My plastic surgeon said smiling is a waste of Botox, but I can't help but let out a boisterous ha cha fucking cha at the absurdity. If poor people don't want to spend so much money on cost of living they should just go live in the places nobody lives because there are no jobs or resources."

"Poor people are just so bad at managing money. That's why they have to blindly trust everything we say. We know how to spend money wisely, and we know what's best for the economy and them."

"Get out of the way Plebs! We're betting it all on AI!"

"Oh my! Well, that was unfortunate but also completely unforeseeable. I guess the only thing left to do is brush ourselves off, pat ourselves on the back for being such altruistic utilitarians, ignore the screams from the plebs and go again."

"So where's our bailout? Time is money."