It is amazing that something so small could affect so many people. At first glance, a government redefining the poverty line seems like another bureaucratic dance, but when the dance is over, that will be the line between who receives poverty relief and who does not.

In a country like China, with hundreds of millions of people in the countryside, the poverty line becomes quite important. The Chinese government is talking about reevaluating where that line is drawn.

Right now, they have it listed at $85 per year, and if they raised that to the international standard of $365 per year ($1/day…easy to remember!), they calculate that another 100 million Chinese would qualify for poverty aid.

That makes a lot of difference! China’s booming economy has forced them to rethink just about everything, and many feel it is time to rethink what can be done for those who have fallen behind the production of the big cities.