Is measuring poverty an exercise in the art of the possible? Could we have a poverty line which captures both the absolute and relative elements of poverty in one measure? This paper argues for the use of a poverty line for measuring poverty in newly industrialized East Asian societies that is expenditure-based. We present a number of arguments for the expenditure poverty measure, an alternative to the prevalent and popular measures—absolute and relative poverty. Special reference is made to the social and economic context in East Asia. The case example of Hong Kong is used to demonstrate that the expenditure-based poverty line is a more reliable and sensitive measure. More importantly, this research offers a tool which determines a strategy for social expenditures in terms of poverty alleviation that is in line with a society’s social and economic context.