It was actually 1964 when the "poverty line" was set at three times the cost of an "economy food budget". Of course, this definition has become less and less meaningful as food costs have declined in real terms while the cost of housing and health care have soared. (While energy costs are higher today in real terms, they have not quite "soared" as much as housing and health care.)

That poverty definition also fails to account for very real differences in standard of living. Only cash income is counted - for example, non-cash benefits like Medicaid, food stamps, and rental assistance improve the standard of living of a "poor" welfare recipient but they don't "lift them out of poverty". Similarly, a "poor" retired free-and-clear homeowner can live much better than a full-time "not poor" childless hamburger flipper earning minimum wage and paying half his income for rent. And of course, the cost of living varies widely across the country but the poverty line does not take that into account.