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> I'd rather be poor today than rich twenty years ago.

Poor today means homelessness or working several jobs. Rich in 1995 meant flying around the world and eating really well, great company...lap of luxury, really.

You must really like your iPad.

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Depends on your definition of poor. By the official poverty standards, which except income from government programs, poor people in the US can be quite comfortable in the material sense.

You should spend time with actual poor people and tell them about how comfortable they are.

Poverty certainly aggravates things like mental illness and drug addiction, and is strongly correlated with homelessness, but I think he means it is possible to be materially comfortable in the sense of food/clothes/shelter, at least relative to places in the world where that isn't possible. But... welfare could stand to be higher, as could the minimum wage.

Yes, yes, this wouldn't be HN without someone chiming in to say how much better they know poor people than the rest of us. Thanks.

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