Ok, so we're on par. My family grew half our own food; I don't consider it "imputed income". We DID buy a dollar's worth of seed and grew enough food for weeks, ergo we were eating for weeks on a dollar. We cut & split wood for heat for free (if felling trees ourselves) or cheap (if having whole logs dumped). We even made our own maple syrup. We could have raised _all_ our own food, meat included, but chose to draw the line where we did. Being industrious, laboring to enjoy the fruits thereof without involving someone else's currency, is laudable - and my very point in such discussions as this.
If someone can own or rent property, and cultivate it for adequate sustenance, with otherwise little or no actual income, then they fit the original scale I referred to. Free run of a junkyard to build, with effort, a "free" car? sounds like a $0 win to me! Yes, I understand what you mean, and reject the notion: creative effort and opportunities taken DOES let one live on few dollars per day. There are towns that will GIVE you land, if only you build a humble home thereon - sounds like free real estate to me, so long as your creativity can produce a house for cheap (yes, that's doable too; I've been offered free houses for the taking, in whole or pieces). $1 at the Dollar Store garners a whole lotta seeds; plant them well.
I understand, but reject, your use of "imputed income" here, and that includes barter. I'm not saying that one's work has no value. I'm saying that with very little currency (or trade plainly in lieu thereof) one can indeed get by, providing for one's own basic sustenance. It's the core notion of independence.
What this little exchange does point out is the fuzziness of the notion of "income". As we head for Galt's Gulch, exploring this fog is a worthy endeavor. Living on nothing does not preclude hard work.
As far as I can tell from that post you understand nothing! You can reject all you want to but you are still refusing to see reality.
According to your reasoning if some kind person sold you three months worth of food for a dollar or you bought a dollar’s worth of seed and by dint of much hard work grew enough food to last three months you are living three months for a dollar either way. If you can’t see any difference between those two you are hopeless.