Purchasing power and inflation adjustment are usually accounted for properly. When people say “the poor get richer” they’re talking about the global poor, like

Purchasing power and inflation adjustment are usually accounted for properly. When people say “the poor get richer” they’re talking about the global poor, like folks who live on $2 per day. That number had drastically decreased. But in the western world the “poor” working for minimum wage and middle classes have seen almost no gains while the rich have seen massive increases in both income and wealth.