My Life Is a Lie: How a Broken Benchmark Broke America
3 hours ago
- #cost-of-living
- #economic-inequality
- #poverty-line
- The poverty line in the U.S. is calculated based on a 1963 formula (three times the cost of a minimum food diet), which no longer reflects modern living costs.
- Key expenses like housing, healthcare, and childcare have skyrocketed since 1963, making the current poverty threshold ($31,200 for a family of four) grossly inadequate.
- An updated poverty threshold, using the same methodology but adjusted for today's spending patterns, would be around $140,000 for a family of four.
- The 'Valley of Death' describes how middle-class families lose benefits faster than they gain income, making it harder to climb out of financial instability.
- The COVID-19 lockdowns temporarily alleviated financial strain by suspending costs like childcare and commuting, revealing how high participation costs burden families.
- The current system incentivizes either extreme poverty (to qualify for aid) or high income (to afford basic needs), leaving the middle class struggling.
- Official economic charts misrepresent prosperity by using outdated benchmarks, masking the true cost of living for most Americans.