Progressive Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal faced a backlash on social media Friday after the Democrat falsely claimed the United States has the fourth highest poverty rate on the planet.
“The U.S. has nearly ONE-THIRD of the world's billionaires. Meanwhile, our poverty rate is the 4th highest in the world. Tax the rich,” tweeted the Representative from Washington State before deleting the post.
According to data from the World Population Review, the countries with the highest poverty rates include: South Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Sao Tome and Principe, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, and Guatemala.
Rep. Jayapal’s error stems from an assessment by World Population Review that defines the poverty line at “half of the total population’s median household income.”
“This statistic is so bonkers wrong I cannot fathom how it could have made it past an elementary gut check, even if the gut belonged to an ardent Communist. (Rep Pramila ),” posted a columnist from the Washington Post, who noted that Jayapal "is not an ardent communist."
According to the World Population Review, the poverty rate in the United States is in line with fellow developed nations at 17.8% of the population, comparable to the United Kingdom at 18%, France at 14%, and Sweden at 17%.
