In anti-poverty work in B.C., most organizations have switched to using the Market Basket Measure purely because it addresses regional differences in cost of living. That said, I think what I often see happening, having worked in this area for a while, is that we tend to get really bogged down in debating which measure is the right one.
Again, I also agree; I don't suggest that we shouldn't be measuring, but I think doing so can often detract from solutions. It creates this debate that gets away from really working on addressing the causes and coming up with a solution.