near-poor

tags: poverty level, poverty threshold, federal definition of poverty, Michael Bloomberg, NYC, politics, society Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity, nothing exceeds the criticisms made of the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed. ~ Herman Melville How do you define poverty? Do you think it is the lack of nutritious food, clean clothing, reasonable housing and adequate health care? Even though your definition of what constitutes poverty probably hasn't changed much during your lifetime, the basic financial resources necessary to keep you from being…