• Andy ( andrewrgross@slrpnk.net ) 
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    6 months ago

    I mean no offense, but I don’t think this is true.

    I don’t think anyone who makes $200,000 a year is considered poor under legal definitions or under the casual common use of the term.

    You could make $200k and be in debt. You could make $200k and be in a precarious situation. But I don’t think you can make $200k and qualify as in poverty, either legally or in the court of public opinion.

      • Andy ( andrewrgross@slrpnk.net ) 
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        6 months ago

        I saw it, and it said that a household of eight living on an income of $200k would be “low income”.

        First, “low income” is not poor, either legally or in the informal definition of the word. Even according to the chart you’re referencing, $200k is far above the poverty line. It’s more than twice the cutoff for “extremely low income”.

        Second, this is also based on an absurd qualifier: It’s only “low” if you’re trying to support seven dependents.

        By this logic, $300k a year is poor too (if you’re supporting a household of 12), and a million a year is also poor (if you’re supporting a household of 40 in San Francisco).

        This is silly. If your monthly income is $16k you aren’t poor.

        You can still be broke. You can be in debt. But no: you are not poor.

        • OP didn’t really ask for your definition of the word. OP asked broadly and in quotes. And, yes with a large enough amount of mouths to feed and house, 300k could not be enough to support that and you could be poor. Granted, its unlikely.

          All of that aside, I think you’re just biased because you don’t live in an area like SF. To you 200k seems like a lot of money, so you can’t fathom being poor with that income. Poverty line in parts of the bay area is $150k.

          What you don’t seem to understand is the cost of housing. A 3 bedroom apartment or house (normal boring house) will cost between $5000-$20000/month. That is barely affordable on $200,000 after taxes.

          • Andy ( andrewrgross@slrpnk.net ) 
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            6 months ago

            You’re welcome to your opinion, but what’s funny is that I live in Oakland in a household of three on a joint income of $160k. We live in a two bedroom apartment near Lake Merritt that costs $2500 per month. And we’re pretty comfortable.

            It sounds like you and I are neighbors. If you’re having a harder time than I am I don’t want to invalidate your experience. But not everyone who feels financially constrained is poor, imo.