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The poverty line is a lie: how the rising cost of living is leaving many Americans behind

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Ali Velshi Explains the Poverty Line is a Lie

The MS NOW host and Citizen board member explains how Donald Trump tried to use his address to the nation to gaslight the country into thinking that the economy is doing better than it actually is

Listen

Ali Velshi Explains the Poverty Line is a Lie

The MS NOW host and Citizen board member explains how Donald Trump tried to use his address to the nation to gaslight the country into thinking that the economy is doing better than it actually is

BY Ali Velshi

Dec. 22, 2025

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On Wednesday, December 17, the President addressed America on the state of the economy. Trump’s approval rating on the economy has slipped to 31 percent. Rather than delivering a speech which assured Americans that he feels their pain and is working to alleviate the pressures of rising costs of living and improving our social safety net, he used his time to tell Americans that the economy isn’t actually bad, that prices are decreasing, wages are increasing, and we are experiencing record growth. None of that is true, Ali Velshi explains.

Trump’s speech was an attempt to gaslight the country into thinking the economy is doing better than it actually is. The consumer price index (that’s inflation) is up, not down. Grocery items like beef, coffee, chicken, and orange juice have increased and are continuing to go up, as are energy prices.

More telling is our poverty rate. While the number of families considered living under the poverty line has decreased over the last few years, how poverty is calculated reveals that this seemingly positive indicator is telling us much more about the economy and the average American’s situation — and it is decidedly not good.

The poverty calculation was created in 1963, and uses a family’s income before taxes. The average American at the time spent 1/3 of their income on food. Thus, that amount multiplied by three was considered the poverty line, and it changes based on the rate of inflation alone. The poverty line in 2024, adjusted for inflation, was $31,200 for a family of four. Imagine living on that.

Why does that seem so off? Because the 1963 method has never been updated to reflect modern necessities or lifestyle changes, or the costs of goods and services like utilities, healthcare, childcare, and home ownership that have exponentially outpaced inflation as they increased. So while the median income in the United States is $80,000 sounds like enough, in reality, a family of four needs to be bringing in between $130,000-$150,000 to make ends meet.

This is the reality that most Americans face today. Our economy is broken, and Trump is telling you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears.

LISTEN: DONALD TRUMP IS GASLIGHTING AMERICANS ON THE ECONOMY

 

WATCH: THE POVERTY LINE IS A LIE

 

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