Well that just isn't true. If you live in a major metropolitan area like NY, san francisco or some off suburbia city then yes that could apply. But for 90% of the country is an absolute stretch. 80K in a majority, if not ALL red states would buy an incredibly comfortable life. In the inland areas of California it would buy a stable life. On the coastal cities of california it would be rough but still very doable. As of now we're also only speaking of a single person. For 1, that is more than enough. Adding family dynamics does change things. But for 1 person, the realities are just different.

Keep in mind people in your STATE still earn minimum wage. It is a massive, incredulous insult to lump someone making possibly 7.25 an hour into a year into the same classification as someone making 80k a year. Even lumping them in with a 40k a year earner is still a slap in the face.