I like to visit http://www.shorpy.com/ every day. When you see photos of 6-8 year old newsies, the pre-teen who lost his arm in the mine, the family of migrant workers who heard that there were jobs, you know that in general we have things pretty good.

The good news is if you don't care for your kids well, yes, someone is going to call Child Protection Services. The bad news is that it's hard to say what their limits are, and I suspect it depends on time of day, the day of the week, the phase of the moon, etc.

I can't find a link to a recent Macleans article discussing Ireland's definition of poverty. If I remember right, not being able to have a waterproof overcoat, two pairs of sturdy shoes, a roast joint once a week, meat or a vegetarian alternative every other day, etc. indicated poverty. I liked the notion, because they are culturally relevant, dependent upon the environment and seasons, and were appropriate to the country. The United States and Canada are quite a bit larger and more diverse, so any such indicators would have to be regional. And yes - our idea of poverty doesn't begin to touch the reality of millions in other countries. It is all about perspective.