As someone in that side (if I made 180k post-tax, I would be living paycheck to paycheck - I became aware of it because I'm funemployed with a big spreadsheet), it is not at all poverty, but it is more of a cashflow quirk when they say this.
They're saying their outflow matches their in-flow, but not that all of it is actually being spent (the mortgage at 2.5% is equity).
Not having a bunch of cash in the bank or merely maintaining a 100k rainy day balance isn't paycheck to paycheck, even though these people might describe it so.
So the people who make 250k who live "paycheck to paycheck" are actually sitting on top of a big comfort cushion which they are loathe to remove for financial cushion. That is okay if it is a deliberate choice instead of a "save face, keep with the joneses" peer pressure to keep spending.
This is not even remotely comparable to actual poverty where the floor is fast approaching you if you miss a month.
These articles can be described as feeding some people's "more money can't fix money problems" and some other's mistaken belief that spending everything you get is what paycheck to paycheck means. Also totally different if it is debt you are paying off instead of actually spending.
Also a hit-piece on the "earn and spend" millenials, which is somewhat fair because I don't know if I could be this affluent in my retirement, the way the economy is tilting.