Full Signal $140,000 poverty line in a RIGGED economy | Mike Green, Simplify Asset Management
9 snips
Jan 8, 2026 
Mike Green, Chief Investment Officer of Simplify Asset Management, challenges traditional notions of poverty, claiming the real poverty line is close to $140,000. He critiques the outdated formula used to calculate it and discusses the generational divide in perceiving financial struggles. Mike highlights issues such as benefit cliffs, rising costs for young families, and how modern capitalism perpetuates inequality. He advocates for policy changes like expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit to empower individuals and stimulate affordability.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Outdated Poverty Measure
- The official U.S. poverty line uses a 1960s formula (three times a minimal food budget) and has been simply CPI-adjusted since 1969.
- That method understates real living costs because non-food expenses rose faster than food over decades.
The Valley Of Death Between Benefits And Work
- Benefit cliffs create a "valley of death" where modest income gains are offset by lost benefits.
- Families can earn more yet be no better off because incremental earnings replace withdrawn benefits.
Official Poverty Stats Mask Precarity
- Supplemental poverty measures show very few households in crisis after benefits, yet many households lack emergency savings.
- That gap signals widespread precarity despite low official poverty rates.
