The data on real earnings dropping 4% for the bottom 60% while costs doubled is staggering. What really stuck with me is how the LISEP measure shows the official poverty threshold is basically useless at this pont. I've seen this play out firsthand with freinds in service jobs who technically work full-time but still qualify for SNAP. The system pretends a 2009 minimum wage is workable in 2026.
It is a stunning reality. Yes, the official poverty threshold has been useless for measuring need for quite a while. One wonders if it was ever a useful measure. And the minimum wage being stuck at its 2009 (inadequate) level is madness.
The data on real earnings dropping 4% for the bottom 60% while costs doubled is staggering. What really stuck with me is how the LISEP measure shows the official poverty threshold is basically useless at this pont. I've seen this play out firsthand with freinds in service jobs who technically work full-time but still qualify for SNAP. The system pretends a 2009 minimum wage is workable in 2026.
It is a stunning reality. Yes, the official poverty threshold has been useless for measuring need for quite a while. One wonders if it was ever a useful measure. And the minimum wage being stuck at its 2009 (inadequate) level is madness.