Is $140K the real poverty line? Viral claim sparks debate about what it takes to get by in 2025

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( NewsNation ) — A viral claim that $140,000 is the “real poverty line” has reignited debate over how poverty is defined and what it means to be middle class in 2025.

Investor Michael Green recently calculated that a family of four would need roughly $136,500 a year to afford essentials like child care, food, transportation, housing and health care.

That’s more than four times the U.S. poverty threshold set by the Department of Health and Human Services, which is $32,150 for a family of four.

Green, chief strategist and portfolio manager for Simplify Asset Management, laid out his argument in a widely read Substack essay