People really do need to give up on widescreen TVs as a marker for "not poor". I was in the Mekong Delta swampland, passing by rudimentary shacks that didn't close completely against the elements. I still saw big TV sets in them.
But American poor people "always have to worry about money" because of the way they spend it. By that definition no matter how much money Uncle Sugar gave them every month they'd still be poor.
I saw a definition of being rich as "never having to worry about money". Now take being poor as "always having to worry about money".
Doesn't matter if you have got a widescreen TV. If you sell it off you may eat better for a few weeks, but after that you will still be in the same situation, in constant worry about money.