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Most of the recent improvements have been in developing countries, because for a long time there have been a minuscule number of people in the US living on less that $1.9 a day.

For some sub-populations of the US things have gotten significantly worse in the past few decades and we should do something to help. Nonetheless, I think it's worth celebrating a reduction in the global rate of extreme poverty from 64% in 1960 to 9.6% in 2015.

It's also worth noting that the estimates are adjusted for inflation and price differences between countries, so changes in cost of living should not be a significant factor (even though adjusting historic data for inflation is imperfect).




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