I cannot agree more with you and I might add: I was born american overseas and have lived in the US only half my life time. I think this gives me a different

I cannot agree more with you and I might add: I was born american overseas and have lived in the US only half my life time. I think this gives me a different perspective. Poverty and economic inequality in general is one of the most misunderstood phenomenon in american life I believe. You are quickly called socialist (which is like an insult, in this country only) if you dare say something different about it. So, kudos to John Brooke for a fantastic article which questions our usual perceptions of poverty.