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News & Current Events Mar 29, 2026 at 4:04 PM

A new way to measure poverty shows the US falling behind Europe

Posted by thejoshwhite

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love_valentinacross Mar 29, 2026 +114
Anyone who's lived in both can feel this. It's not just about the raw income, it's the 'hidden' costs of being poor in the US like healthcare and transport that really crush you.
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thejoshwhite Mar 29, 2026 +42
Agreed. There is also just something so freeing about government services that allow you to offload mental energy about fundamental or tedious needs.
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CockBrother Mar 29, 2026 +38
There's a fair amount of American life dedicated towards administrative tasks that doesn't have to be that way.
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thejoshwhite Mar 29, 2026 +19
Yes. We are in tax season for example
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Spanyanagonyam Mar 29, 2026 +8
Yeah this blows my mind seeing all these Americans struggling with their tax returns, Have they never heard of PAYE?
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thejoshwhite Mar 29, 2026 +12
Tax companies spend billions on political lobbying to keep the government from making it easier or free to file taxes. It's an activity that should entirely be on the onus of the government but Americans have been trained to be masochistic in so many ways.
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psychrolut Mar 29, 2026 +9
Also Trump cancelled free direct filing with the IRS because BiDeN and oBaMa bAd /s
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thejoshwhite Mar 29, 2026 +4
Yes. And many Americans cheer! Please make it harder to live in our society!
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Goya_Oh_Boya Mar 29, 2026 +22
I’ve lived, studied, worked, and have been unemployed in the US and Europe. The US system actively punishes you for being unemployed. They make it more stressful and difficult when you are at your lowest and least secure. That said, until recently, it was easier to get out of the rut in the US because there were more employment opportunities. That’s not the same anymore. US has decided to not only attack and destroy our safety nets, but the free market as well.
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Smooth-Ad5257 Mar 29, 2026 +12
Education, social services, social net ... So many more
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drobits Mar 29, 2026 +12
Mass transit is huge too. Outside of NYC, most people in the United States need a car to survive.
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TheAskewOne Mar 29, 2026 +7
People compare wages and say oh but Europeans are poor! Except they dont have to pay much for healthcare and education, they get pensions, paid sick leave etc. Wages are lower but they’re also much less you need to pay for, so really comparing wages isn’t a good indicator.
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Spanyanagonyam Mar 29, 2026 +10
Yup. Also don't have to live in gated communities and own a gun and drive everywhere just to keep the threat of desperate people at bay.
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Gold-Appearance-4463 Mar 29, 2026 +7
It’s easier to become rich in the US but also easier to become poor.  The European safety net has a high price - but it’s easier to sleep at night. 
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Smooth-Ad5257 Mar 29, 2026 +10
It is also the conscious that helps to sleep, that your money helps the poor, helps to keep the streets proper and the kids educated. US is more "me" - EU is more "us"
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Gold-Appearance-4463 Mar 29, 2026 +6
That’s a very idealistic view of it.  To most it’s a „I don’t want that to happen to me, so I’m accepting to pay more“ - no fear of suddenly losing your job, no guilt for taking your 3-4 week vacation and the knowledge that hard times don’t mean losing health insurance or the roof over your head. 
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Coldettuce Mar 29, 2026 +59
The reason we look richer on paper is that the US still uses an absolute poverty line a fixed dollar amount based on the cost of food in 1963. Europe uses a relative measure, which defines poverty as anything below 60% of the median income. By European standards, our poverty line is a joke. We measure destitution (can you physically survive?), while they measure dignity.
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Ill-Language-9178 Mar 29, 2026 +11
Goddamn, spitting bars over here 👈
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Teddycrat_Official Mar 29, 2026 +10
For the record - the definition of “poverty” in the IS Coldettuce is talking about is defined as: > The minimum food diet * 3 That’s the entire calculation - as discovered by economists in 1955 and implemented in 1963. We weigh every political action based on poverty - who gets assistance, whether we’re succeeding in keeping poverty down, etc - all through the lens of the cheapest diet you can possibly eat * 3 It’s insane
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default_admin_2 Mar 30, 2026 +1
Ive been saying this for years americas poverty line is useless. Its homeless. In 2026 its 15,960. It should be at least 40k. Even at 40k i think thats too little.
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Into-the-stream Mar 29, 2026 +24
If you are rich, America is wonderful. One of the best in the world. And the rich do everything they can to convince the average person it’s the best place for everyone. Everything except actually making it that way. If you are poor or even middle income, there are a lot of places you’d be better off. But American propaganda runs DEEP.
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Smooth-Ad5257 Mar 29, 2026 +7
If you are rich everywhere is nice...
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Into-the-stream Mar 29, 2026 +7
Yes, but America favours the rich more than many places do: you get faster and better healthcare if you are wealthy. Better taxes, less regulation.  Most places in the G7 equalize things a bit more, so no matter how much money you throw at a situation, you don’t get extra special treatment in hospital, and everyone gets the same care, same doctors as every regular schmo.
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Smooth-Ad5257 Mar 29, 2026 +2
I guess you have never been to EU. There are doctors that take only privately insured, there are clinics that are private, etc etc. The idea the us is special if you make it is an illusion. Everywhere is special if you make it.
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svezia Mar 30, 2026 +1
If you are rich, you can be anywhere anytime
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Aromatic-Side6120 Mar 29, 2026 +1
100% disagree with this. America is not wonderful to be rich in either. The general state of the country affects you no matter how rich you are. You can try to escape it but it’s impossible without actually leaving the country. Even in enclaves and gated communities, you are trapped by your own wealth. Then you grow to resent the very people you are surrounded by and develop warped ideologies about how you are inherently better than them. And last but not least, without a fully functioning society, YOU are ultimately vulnerable, to revolution or corruption or crime and so on. It’s exactly like being the king of a pile of shit. So add fear and paranoia to the list. You think Elon musk is having a good time, I don’t think so at all and his actions prove that he’s a miserable f***.
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ElsewhereExodus Mar 29, 2026 +13
America is categorically impoverished compared to Europe.
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TheAskewOne Mar 29, 2026 +11
It’s not about money, it’s about quality of life.
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thejoshwhite Mar 29, 2026 +15
I think a good first step is to try to end the American exceptionalism myth. That's the only way Americans will be willing to learn from what others do. And this sort of info can help with that.
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ClusterFoxtrot Mar 29, 2026 +7
You'd think with how much some of our politicians love Rome, they'd also glom on to certain inventions and improve them. America is *capable* of exceptionalism, we just opt out of it. Sure, Canada may have huge waits for appointments or whatever the argument is-- you're telling me the greatest country (allegedly) can't make it better than that? I believe we can.
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jungl3j1m Mar 29, 2026 +4
If you think you're the best, you will never have an incentive to improve.
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Spanyanagonyam Mar 29, 2026 +3
Exactly this. America is like that kid who's parents kept telling them they were better than everyone else.
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thejoshwhite Mar 29, 2026 +1
Yes. That's why 'America is the greatest country on earth' is very powerful propaganda.
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cllgez0813 Mar 29, 2026 +3
The uncertainty tax of means tested social programs is really psychologically draining. We have such a robust social safety net but the fact it’s so narrowly tailored really sucks
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Aromatic-Side6120 Mar 29, 2026 +3
Falling behind? I’m surprised we were ever in the competition. I know we aren’t for gini coefficient.
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debugprint Mar 29, 2026 +2
Visit the "lower income" parts of western Europe ie the Mediterranean. Compare the cost of living, infrastructure, and overall state of mind of people between, say, Spain / Southern France / southern Italy and similar places in the southeastern USA. I'm not just talking large cities like Barcelona Marseille or Napoli. Compare Toulon vs Lake Charles LA. Alicante Spain vs Jacksonville. New Orleans vs Genoa. I have mentioned multiple times that the way to turn around a MAGA voter is to give them a voucher for travel and hotel for a week to a city similar to theirs in Europe.
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thejoshwhite Mar 29, 2026 +2
Having more Americans do extended stays in other places would change the world
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svezia Mar 30, 2026 +1
Oh no please, let them think their place is the best. Ignorance is bliss, blinders will doom them
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NEOK53 Mar 29, 2026 +1
So the MAGA plan is working then. Weird, nothing they do usually works.
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bassplayerguy Mar 29, 2026 +1
Yeah, but the US 0.01% kicks Europe’s ass! /s
1
tonytwocans Mar 29, 2026 -8
Ok I read the article and it’s total nonsense. Of course Americans work more hours than europeans, that doesn’t mean they’re in poverty. How about a new measure to see who has central air, a washer/dryer, dishwasher, and a garbage disposal in their house.
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Justwaspassingby Mar 30, 2026 +1
I have all that except garbage disposal, which is not necessary because the trash containers are literally down the corner. And I live in one of the poorest neighborhoods in the area.
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tonytwocans Mar 30, 2026 +1
You’ll have to look up what a garbage disposal does, I’ll never go back to drain screens.
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Justwaspassingby Mar 30, 2026 +1
I don’t know how you use tour kitchens, my drain barely sees any food. Plate - garbage can - dishwasher - done.
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tonytwocans Mar 30, 2026 +1
Any food that I clean off of dishes and pots/pans gets macerated and sent down the drain. Whereas before I had to empty the drain screen into the garbage myself every night.
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thejoshwhite Mar 29, 2026 +4
Yes. Americans are consumers. That's true. Edit to be less flippant: needing so many products to participate in society is actually a problem, not a positive thing. It means if you are poor you are even farther away from normal society.
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tonytwocans Mar 29, 2026 -8
Haha the cope is real. We have a higher standard of living.
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TheAskewOne Mar 29, 2026 +4
No we don’t. I’d gladly exchange air conditioning, which I’ve done without most of my life anyway, for quality public transportation for example. Also Europeans do have kitchen appliances and washers and dryers.
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Its-A-Spider Mar 29, 2026 +2
Are you for some reason under the impression that Europe doesn't have washers, dryers, dishwashers, and garbage disposal? Central air conditioning, sure, in some areas that's rare because it simply isn't needed. But beyond that, we must ask: Are you okay?
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thejoshwhite Mar 29, 2026 -1
Maybe you do.
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Spanyanagonyam Mar 29, 2026 +2
Uh dude... you do know all those things exist and are easily accessible in Europe too?
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default_admin_2 Mar 30, 2026 +1
Lmfao stuff like this is why we aren't better as a country. Lack of education, critical thinking, and childish behavior.
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Noreallyjusteatit Mar 29, 2026 -3
We are winning and free rich though.
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Spanyanagonyam Mar 29, 2026 +2
"Winning" at what exactly?
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