The median household income, however, stood at $83,730 last year By Jason Lofters

 

https://x.com/LoftersJason/status/1992954521778307156?s=20

A family spending one-third of its income on food would spend the other two-thirds on everything else, and those proportions more or less worked. Below that line, you were in genuine crisis. Above it, you had a fighting chance,” he says.

The median household income, however, stood at $83,730 last year.

Another point he makes is that the safety net does catch people at the very bottom, but traps anyone who climbs out. For instance, at $45,000, they lose Medicaid eligibility; at $65,000, childcare subsidies vanish.