Absolute And Relative Poverty 529925

One of great distinctions offered by the students of social class is between absolute and relative poverty. What is this distinction how does it play out in American class system? I started by defining the terms.

In absolute poverty, a person cannot provide for his/her basic needs such as food and shelter. Homeless people suffer from absolute poverty. In relative poverty, the government’s official statistics define the poverty level as those earning below 60% of average earnings.

How does it play out in the American class system?

You may also want to use the poverty threshold under this link as additional reference.
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/threshld/index.html)