Can You Be "Poor" If You Own An HDTV?

"US poverty on track to reach 46-year high says a headline in The Washington Post. And so is the topic of what constitutes poverty in the U.S. Just how bad is it? Muses a CNNMoney headline, Are you poor if you have a flat-screen TV? The article says, 'For instance, some 62% of households earning less than $20,000 annually owned between two and four televisions, according to the 2009 Residential Energy Consumption Survey, conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy. That compares to 68% of those earning $120,000 or more."

"[T]he conservative Heritage Foundation released a study by Robert Rector and Rachel Sheffield last year. Among its findings:

• 80% of poor families have air conditioning.
• 92% have a microwave.
• Almost two-thirds have cable or satellite TV.
• More than half of poor households with children have a video game system.
• Half of poor households have a computer and 43% have Internet access.
• A third have a plasma or LCD TV, and a quarter have a digital video recorder"

You can read more on MSN Money HERE.