It turns out that the US poverty line -- a line designed not to say, "above this line you are okay", but rather "below this line you are definitely NOT okay" -- was set up to be three times food prices.
But food prices haven't rised much compared to other huge expenses, especially housing, healthcare, childcare, and telecoms.
This essay claims that the US poverty line *ought* to be (for a family of four) $140K, about four times what it currently is ($31,200).
