I don't think the problem is that people "misunderstand" that notion. I think it's that people who've never been that kind of poor don't — can't — appreciate ho

I don't think the problem is that people "misunderstand" that notion. I think it's that people who've never been that kind of poor don't — can't — appreciate how few options the people who are actually have, or how much more expensive those options are (not just in terms of the marginal utility of the poor person's dollar, but that things are often objectively more expensive) when you're that poor. It's a subtle distinction, but it's absolutely real.