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An essay went viral by claiming that $140,000 is what a family of four needs to just get by — a number higher than what 70% of American households earn. Conservative economists called it idiotic. Kathryn dismissed it and got a nasty DM. What’s the real controversy? It’s not that the poverty line is misleading. It's that we have no measure for our current affordability crisis. And the American mindset has been so warped by decades of bad economic policy that we think the only way to get help is to prove that we’re poor.
END NOTES:
Watch video clips from this episode at the Optimist Economy YouTube channel.
Follow us on Instagram at @optimist_economy.
Follow us on TikTok at @optimist_economy.
Read some stuff on our Substack.
Consume leisure in an O.E. hat or shirt: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy
Support us and our tireless editors and producers by donating: https://optimisteconomy.com
And send your economic questions, concerns, or executive orders: [email protected]
By Kathryn Anne Edwards and Robin Rauzi5
683683 ratings
An essay went viral by claiming that $140,000 is what a family of four needs to just get by — a number higher than what 70% of American households earn. Conservative economists called it idiotic. Kathryn dismissed it and got a nasty DM. What’s the real controversy? It’s not that the poverty line is misleading. It's that we have no measure for our current affordability crisis. And the American mindset has been so warped by decades of bad economic policy that we think the only way to get help is to prove that we’re poor.
END NOTES:
Watch video clips from this episode at the Optimist Economy YouTube channel.
Follow us on Instagram at @optimist_economy.
Follow us on TikTok at @optimist_economy.
Read some stuff on our Substack.
Consume leisure in an O.E. hat or shirt: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy
Support us and our tireless editors and producers by donating: https://optimisteconomy.com
And send your economic questions, concerns, or executive orders: [email protected]

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