Originally Posted by Rochard

Is poverty really on the rise?

This past week an old friend hit me up. He told me he's been unemployed now for nearly two years. His benefits have run out, and he's now forty years old and - I'm not kidding - living in his parents basement.

The catch is I'm sure he's listed as "living below the poverty level" but it's not like he's going hungry or anything.

I have another friend who is completely on state support and on the table has no income. Why work full time when he can work part time and collect benefits?

I have no doubt that the poverty level has risen in the past three years, but I wonder how much of it is close to being correctly counted.