Are 90% of Americans Under the "Poverty Line"? 🎧 #561 (Nov 24)

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Are 90% of Americans Under the "Poverty Line"? 🎧 #561 (Nov 24)

Michael Green did the math for us

Nov 24, 2025

∙ Paid

As we all prepare to stress eat and shop…

According to Michael Green’s new piece and calculations, a more realistic poverty line is $140,000 USD.

No Paywall on the article below:

We have created a system where the only way to survive is to be destitute enough to qualify for aid, or rich enough to ignore the costs.

Michael W. Green

And he rightly shows that there are incentives to be destitute in order to qualify for aid. Or be rich enough not to be impacted or notice.

And yes, as someone begins to work harder to earn more than $40k annually, they rapidly begin losing aid.

Approximately 90% of working age Americans make less than $140,000 annually.

Look around this Thanksgiving. Depending on what zip code you reside, 1 out of 4 (or more) working age adults in the USA make under $25k per year. Structurally unemployed.

Is $140k the right line for the new USA Poverty line? What does your gut say?

Meanwhile at Meadow Lane (355 Greenwich St NYC), the life you disqualified out of…

$12 for grapes, $65 for olive oil, $5 for a few carrots.

For my hood, 1 in 3 adults and 40% of families in NYC can't afford basic nutrition. (Methodology Survey of 3k households across various demographics)

And here is where my wife and I went today for our first post baby meal. Sugarfish for sushi. I highly recommend. The bill was $188 for two. Gratuity is included here.