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I like this guy's take at Status Coup, and at 10:30 he shows the chart on the enormous theft from working class to Richy Rich https://youtu.be/DuOPpWTxBp8?si=fXO1lS5JvuvR97aP

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Stephen - do you know this guy John Robino? Talks about money with Mo and argues that we would be even better economically if we pulled back from the trillion a year in military spending, no longer policing the world for the 1%. Robino doesn't go as far as I would in saying we are running into entropy as we have crapped on Mother Ocean and she's pissed, going to clean house. He's on the stack here. At 49 minutes he talks about what's next. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY4Arx0P6H4

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author

I don't but sounds interesting, thanks.

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Why are your numbers in the poverty graph different from these from the Census Department? "2021: The official poverty rate was 11.6%, with approximately 37.9 million individuals living in poverty. 2022: The rate slightly decreased to 11.5%, encompassing about 37.9 million people. 2023: The rate further declined to 11.1%, with around 36.8 million individuals in poverty." https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/p60-283.html Doubtless I'm missing something!

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author

Bob, thanks for flagging. I failed to mention that I used the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) and not the Official Poverty Measure (OPM). The figures you're citing are OPM. Sorry about that. I'll make a note of that in the text.

The reason why I used SPM (and why SPM was developed in the first place) is because it's a better way to measure poverty. More info here: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2021/09/difference-between-supplemental-and-official-poverty-measures.html

Thanks again for flagging (and for supporting my work!).

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Nov 6Liked by Stephen Semler

Thanks for the clarification. I was curious. I agree the SPM is a better measure. Incidentally, ChatGPT gives the following numbers, which are slightly different from the ones you cited (not significantly!). Just for interest: "The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) provides a broader perspective by accounting for government assistance programs and necessary expenses. Here’s the estimated number of people living in poverty according to the SPM from 2019 to 2023:

• 2019: Approximately 38.0 million people (11.7% of the population). (census.gov) • 2020: About 28.0 million individuals (9.1%), reflecting significant government aid during the pandemic. (census.gov)

• 2021: A record low of 25.2 million people (7.8%), largely due to expanded pandemic relief programs. (census.gov)

• 2022: The SPM poverty rate rose to 41.5 million individuals (12.4%) after the expiration of key pandemic support. (census.gov)

• 2023: Approximately 43.2 million people (12.9%) lived in poverty under the SPM. (census.gov)

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