There is no source for that, it is not true. The world bank’s preferred metric for material welfare is PPP adjusted consumption (because for instance, food stam

There is no source for that, it is not true. The world bank’s preferred metric for material welfare is PPP adjusted consumption (because for instance, food stamps aren’t income), and because poverty measurements are only relative to people within one country, not between multiple countries. When you measure that, the poorest 20% of Americans have a superior level of welfare to the average person in most OECD countries. You can see on table 6.5 in the study linked below that lowest quintile households (by income) consumed an average of $57,049 goods and services per household, which is just under $22k per person. Putting the lowest 20% of the US in the top half of OECD countries for that year. https://www.nber.org/chapters/c12831.pdf https://www.nber.org/chapters/c12831.pdf