Sad. Because there are people who are truly poor, who don´t have enough to eat or a roof over their heads. And this ´dumbing down´ of the definition of poverty makes it more difficult for social services agencies to differentiate and get help to those who truly are in need.

Thats about what I bring in annually on my own.

My definition of real poverty comes close to the conditions in which Obama´s half-brother (or whatever relation he is) lives in Kenya. It´s also close to the way most people in Britain lived in WWII and for some years afterwards. Add to that the Appalachian poor, poor American Indians on the rez, and so on. We don´t have to raise the line below which poverty lies. We already have plenty of it.

A few years ago the common definition was if you don´t have a microwave, you´re poor. These days it´s if you didn´t grab a 60" TV on Black Friday, you´re poor.

I guess we´re poor.

The key fact in this article is the change in how poverty is assessed. It is no longer about how well you can provide for your family´s needs. It is now about what your family has *relative to other people*.

The more people in the collective bowl of poverty,the more it empowers socialism.I´m a very low income person myself but I don´t consider myself living in poverty because I have the simplistic blessings of God.I don´t want the government stealing money from someone else and giving it to me.I wouldn´t know what to do if I hit the powerball,probably use the money for a worthy cause,like giving out school vouchers for bullied kids.

A TV show isn´t any better because you´re watching it on a big screen as opposed to a smaller one. It costs me 20 bucks a month for a phone that I´m very happy with.

The point is if people found spirituality,they´d be a lot more content with what they have,instead of lusting after other worldly goods,especially if it´s being bought with government theft.

Just living int his country puts you way ahead of the majority of people in the world,many of whom have never seen indoor plumbing,electricity or talked on a phone.

I dont think God minds people having nice things,it when you put those nice things ahead of Him is when you run into a problem.

Anyone of modest means who tries to live in New York City is making himself poor. Another place to move the heck out of.

When I first came to Miami everything was cheap. Because I started here long ago I have been able to help my children get established. I wouldn´t come here now.

Prices of homes are very reasonable in West Virginia. Georgia is still reasonable in many sections. Some of the middle northwest states are sparsely populated. I know. It´s cold there.

$38,000/yr in NYC, comes really close to the 50% tax rate in NY with federal, state and city income taxes. An inexpensive one bedroom apartment might be as little as $1,000/mo. $7,000/yr to live on is pretty close to poverty in my mind.
I´d get out if I could, in fact, I did. But, the inexpensive places to live have fewer jobs, you have to go where you can work. Here in NOVA, I know people who live where housing is cheaper, but they have commutes of over an hour each way. That´s not cheap either.

I heat my house with wood and coal, like they used to do 100 years ago. Does that make me poor?

I live abundantly on a lot less than that. I´m fine as long as I don´t have taxes to pay for a bloated government or socialist programs.

My sister died almost 2 years ago because she was white and poor. She fell and injured her wrist, lost her job because she couldn´t work after the surgery on her wrist. Didn´t qualify for Medicaid for some reason. Lived in subsidized housing. Couldnt get the medication she needed for her diabetes from the neighborhood clinic she was forced to use. One day went into a coma and two days later she died. I doubt she ever even saw a 60" TV.

As a high school student in 1960s Miami, I was amazed to find that my family was living "below the poverty line."

My parents were buying a 3-bedroom "waterfront" home (on a canal); a color console TV, a boat, but only one car. We had new clothes for the start of school and for Easter, and were never hungry.

We did, however, take advantage of cheaper food, such as "pick your own" fruit and vegetables, and free food - bass, bream and blue-gill in the canal and mackerel, dolphin (don´t get excited - it´s mahi-mahi) and lobster, once my brothers convinced dad to take the boat out in salt water.

So the difference between living in poverty and being rich is less than a factor of 10 now.

Nothing like a little redistribution to equalize everyone.

Wow. I´m poor and didn´t know it. Bring on the Guvmint goodies

#7 -- I don´t think a one bedroom in NYC for $1K exists.

I also live in Northern VA and one bedrooms in middle class/mediocre neighborhoods in Arlington, Alexandria and closer-in suburbs start around $1,300/month, if you´re lucky.
And commutes even from close in (under 10 miles) are at least 45 minutes. Wish I could leave...