[badrunner]

It's a nonsensical way to measure poverty in any case, at least not in the way that we normally understand the use of that word. Is someone living paycheck to paycheck in a nice $3k/month 1 bedroom apartment really living in poverty because his cost of living is so high? What about a retired couple on a fixed income living in a modest million dollar house with the mortgage paid off? Because they live in a wealthy area with a high cost of living, their income will come in way below the adjusted "poverty" line. They'll be considered worse off than a couple on the same income living in a trailer in Mississippi once you adjust for cost of living.