the U.S. poverty rate is the highest in the industrialized world.

Can the US even be considered and industrialized nation anymore? They've pretty much shut down or out-sourced so much, (if not most) of their manufacturing capabilities and industry. They're a de-industrialized nation now and look how far THAT got them.

I guess they`d call it Post-Industrial, but like the Poms, if you stop producing stuff to sell, a financial meltdown hits really hard.

I would like to know what is considered the "poverty line".

I think it's much higher than the rest of the world's.

//(The OECD defines poor as someone living in a household with less than half the median income, adjusted for family size...
*
Children living in countries where there is large gap between rich and poor are less likely to improve on the education and income attainments of their parents than children living in countries with low income inequality.
*
Countries like Denmark and Australia have higher social mobility, while the United States, United Kingdom and Italy have lower mobility.//
Born poor and condemned to remain poor - doesn`t sound like a land of opportunity to me.
http://www.oecd.org/document/25/0,3343,en_2649_201185_41530009_1_1_1_1,00.html