What is poverty? Walter E. Williams put its definition this way in his article "How can it be?":
"46 percent of poor households actually own their homes; 76 percent have air conditioning; the typical poor American has more living space than the average non-poor individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens and other cities in Europe; nearly 75 percent of poor households own one car, and 30 percent own two or more cars; 97 percent have at least one color television; 62 percent have cable or satellite reception; and 25 percent have cell phones."
These are not fictious numbers. They come from the research "Understanding Poverty in America" by Robert E. Rector and Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D. from the Washington-based Heritage Foundation.