If the growth of gains had continued with the same distribution after 1979, poverty would be zero
"If we had not seen the gains of growth flow almost exclusively to the top, but instead had seen them flow in the same pattern as they did prior to 1979, what would the poverty rate have looked like over time? And as you can see, both on the official and supplemental poverty measure, the rate would have fallen to 0 percent over 10 to 20 years ago respectively.."
Matt Bruenig, "We Would Have Eliminated Poverty Entirely by Now if Inequality Hadn’t Skyrocketed," Jan. 17, 2014, http://billmoyers.com/2014/01/17/we-would-have-eliminated-poverty-entire...
[verified 4/15/14]