Topics: Economics and Personal Finances, Socioeconomic Class. 1  Richard Fry is a senior researcher focusing on economics and education at Pew Research Center. 2  Rakesh Kochhar is an associate director of research at Pew Research Center.
In the United States, the Census Bureau determines who is poor using an economic poverty measure, by calculating official poverty estimates using a set of dollar-value thresholds, or minimum amount of income needed to meet basic needs, that vary by family size and composition.
Terms to describe pleasant behavior include affable, friendly, outgoing and amiable. Cooperative behaviors include helpful and responsive. An individual who exhibits dependent behaviors could be described as docile, eager to please or accommodating. Other positive-behavior terms include tactful, candid and courteous.