Poverty certainly aggravates things like mental illness and drug addiction, and is strongly correlated with homelessness, but I think he means it is possible to be materially comfortable in the sense of food/clothes/shelter, at least relative to places in the world where that isn't possible. But... welfare could stand to be higher, as could the minimum wage.

Yes, yes, this wouldn't be HN without someone chiming in to say how much better they know poor people than the rest of us. Thanks.