First, we discuss the adoption of the absolute standard by the federal government and then present six alternative definitions of poverty. The motivation for redefining poverty derives from a concern with incorporating some measure of relative deprivation. The next section, performs a sensitivity analysis comparing the poverty rates generated by the alternative measures of poverty to the official poverty rate. The purpose of this comparison is to elucidate misconceptions circumscribing current poverty discourse. In the concluding section, we briefly address the politics of poverty in the USA.