You suggest a hawkish stance has certain likely outcomes — but how much of that is already “priced in” by markets? Could the real impact be more muted if markets have anticipated the hawkish tilt for a while?

Fair enough. Thank you for being so responsive.

Thanks for the clarification — that helps. I completely agree that savings + discretionary money is a good litmus test for whether someone is truly in “poverty.” What your example really highlighted for me is how tight the margin can still feel even at incomes that look high on paper, especially in high-cost areas where fixed expenses don’t flex much. I’m curious how you think about this part: if someone can’t realistically cut their big-ticket expenses (rent, childcare, healthcare, transportation), do you see the problem as mainly individual budgeting, or more of a structural cost-of-living issue? The example you walked through seems to sit right at that intersection.

Really thought‑provoking piece. Given how much the cost of living, housing, and inflation have changed since the article was first written — do you think the number “$140,000” (or whatever benchmark was used) still makes sense today as a meaningful threshold for financial stress or “poverty”? What adjustments would you make now to that baseline, given changes in economy, cost structure and expectations over the past year?

Good article. Sounds like the company is undervalued to me. Worth taking a deeper dive.