BBC News – Do you live above the bread, butter and jam line?

Discussion about poverty in Britain quickly gets snagged on the question of whether you can be poor if you have a plasma TV.

But if, instead of thinking about the breadline, we consider what level of income is needed for an acceptable standard of living, the debate changes.

It gives us a sense of what is decent in a rich country like ours, what we regard as a socially acceptable minimum.