There is such a thing as "absolute poverty" - rather than relative poverty [0]
"a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services"
I don't know, if the statistic for the USA is as high as the 13.5% cited by GP, but based on what I read about, and some small amount of personal experience, it is unusually high for such a wealthy, proud nation.
"a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services"
I don't know, if the statistic for the USA is as high as the 13.5% cited by GP, but based on what I read about, and some small amount of personal experience, it is unusually high for such a wealthy, proud nation.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_poverty