, Columnist
With Poverty, Where Should America Draw the Line?
A basic need in general, but in particular?
Photographer: Ron Antonelli/Bloomberg
At least from a material perspective, things have never been better for many if not most Americans: Their homes are larger and have more amenities. More of them than ever before have access to basic medical care. They earn more and are better educated. Their phones are miracles that would have been unimaginable just a generation ago.
And yet there is a nagging discontent — because so many Americans see the necessities of life as unaffordable. Michael W. Green, an investor, hit a nerve and has started a debate with his argument that the poverty line for a family of four should be $140,000, not the current federally defined level of $32,150.