These young adults make good money. But life, they say, is unaffordable.

"A nerdy economics essay recently went viral. It asserted that the federal measure for the poverty line was woefully outdated and that for a family of four, the income needed today to function in American society was $140,000. The essay, by Michael Green, a financial market strategist, struck a nerve and set off another round of debate about affordability, focused this time on whether people with six-figure incomes should feel strapped."

"But in interviews with Americans in their 20s and 30s, they said that the raw numbers did not come close to capturing the reality of their lives. They were all what economists regard as middle class, some making well over $63,360, the median for full-time, year-round workers. They knew they were not poor. They could afford to buy eggs. But they are contending with an economy that has grown increasingly unequal in recent decades."

Economic indicators show typical middle-class families are wealthier than counterparts from the 1960s. A prominent claim placed the income needed for a family of four at $140,000, prompting debate about whether six-figure earners can still feel financially strapped. Economists note modern consumption patterns include smartphones, eating out, and flying, luxuries once unavailable. Young adults report that headline statistics fail to capture lived realities: rising housing costs, growing inequality, and burdensome trade-offs make homeownership and family provisioning feel unattainable for many. Political leaders have publicly downplayed affordability concerns while price changes remain contested.

Read at Boston.com