I'm old enough to remember when you had to actually be poor to be considered impoverished

Instapundit » Blog Archive » 21ST CENTURY POVERTY: 15 Facts About US Poverty the Government Hides. Poor households routinely r…
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"Poor households routinely report spending $2.40 for every $1 of income the Census says they have.

The average poor American lives in a house or apartment that is in good repair and has more living space than the average nonpoor person in France, Germany, or England.

Eighty-five percent of poor households have air conditioning.

Nearly three-fourths of poor households have a car or truck, and 31 percent have two or more cars or trucks.

Nearly two-thirds of poor households have cable or satellite TV.

Half have a personal computer; 43 percent have internet access.

Two-thirds have at least one DVD player.

More than half of poor families with children have a video game system, such as an Xbox or PlayStation.

One-third have a wide-screen plasma or LCD TV."

When I lived at home we only had the home, and multiple cars, all old. We didn't spend more income than the family made, we didn't have air conditioning, or cable/satellite, didn't have even one DVD player, or even a CD player, no personal computers (until about the time I left for college), no internet access, no video game platforms, or wide screen TV/LCD TV. 

We were considered middle class. 

But everyone knows poverty is a bitch.