poverty level
Origin of poverty level
First recorded in 1975–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for poverty level
Contemporary Examples
And fast food workers in hundreds of cities walked off the job Thursday to protest their poverty-level wages.
Without an education, they face a lifetime of back-breaking work and poverty-level wages.
poverty level
A level of income above which it is possible to achieve an adequate standard of living and below which it is not. It fluctuates with the cost of living.
Note
Because the poverty level is somewhat artificially established by the government, it can be manipulated for political ends. As with hidden unemployment, governments are often accused of establishing a poverty level that underestimates the number of poor people.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
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