Poverty happen when you are part time, disabled, and unemployed not full time.
However, poverty level is ignoring healthcare cost, so it is a rigged government system like COLA and labor rate index. Government doesn't want to keep paying out food stamp, medical, and cash to people if they abide to the "correct" poverty level.
It is my contention that the Government/Big Business (one in the same), pretend to be concerned about entitlements, but really aren't.
They actually depend on them, in every form, to perpetuate what I term "The Siphon".
"The Siphon" is dependent on the entitlement system, where every penny extracted in taxes from working Americans and subsequently redistributed in entitlements, is spent on goods and services that are provided for and profited from by Corporate America.
The lions share of the profits are realized by the mega-rich and are squirreled away in off shore accounts, while being disproportionately under taxed, never again to see the light of day or be reentered into the economy.
This in my opinion is the single biggest factor that is driving the ever widening disparity of wealth in America and what is killing the middle class.
If it doesn't change soon, we will find ourselves back in a similar feudalistic existence as the ones our forefathers came here to escape.