The “poverty line” here in the United States was defined last year as households with an annual income of less than $23,050. Context matters. It’s been pointed out by many that this is still ridiculously more than billions of people in the world make. But their expenses (and expectations!) are also lower to match.
In my studies on Ethiopia I’ve discovered another line of sorts. Nearly everyone in Ethiopia is poor. People aren’t generally ashamed to be poor – it’s such a common condition. However, there is still a line nobody wants to cross. Apparently, if you are too poor to buy a chicken to eat on Easter, then you’ve crossed that line. It was shameful to not be able to prepare any meat on the most holy day of the year. Even the poorest people would usually be able to scrape together enough coin to buy a hen for holy week. The same was somewhat true of Muslims on certain feast days.
Who is really poor in America? Even single moms who can’t work and are on full welfare have a place to live and food to eat and a TV. They often have a working car too. I think in the U.S., the real line is not having a stable place to sleep. It makes family life untenable. The homeless are the true poor. If you live under a bridge, you have effectively crossed the line.