Includes bibliographical references and index.

Hunger is a serious problem for America's poor / Food First -- Hunger is not a serious problem for America's poor / Robert Rector -- The uninsured poor suffer ill health / Dennis P. Andrulis -- Lack of health insurance does not cause ill health among poor people / Tom Miller -- Homelessness is a serious problem for poor people / America -- Homelessness is not a serious problem for poor people / Leo K. O'Drudy III -- Illegitimacy is a primary cause of poverty / Isabel V. Sawhill -- Unmarried mothers are unfairly blamed for poverty / Susan Douglas and Meredith Michaels -- Substance abuse causes poverty / Robert Kaestner -- The link between substance abuse and poverty has been exaggerated / Joint Center for Poverty Research -- A lack of individual responsibility causes poverty / Joel Schwartz -- A lack of opportunities causes poverty / Ellen Mutari -- Housing discrimination causes poverty / Gregory D. Squires -- Housing discrimination has been exaggerated / John Hood -- Government programs help the poor / Wendell Primus and Kathryn Porter

Government programs have not helped the poor / J.D. Tuccille -- Increasing the minimum wage can help the working poor / Holly Sklar -- Increasing the minimum wage is counterproductive / Thomas Sowell -- Welfare reform is effective / U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -- Welfare reform harms the poor / Debra Watson -- Promoting marriage will help end poverty / Wade F. Horn -- Promoting marriage will not help end poverty / Jeanne Winner -- Global poverty causes terrorism / Strobe Talbott -- Global poverty does not cause terrorism / Jane R. Eisner -- Globalization is helping to reduce world poverty / Ian Vasquez -- Globalization is making world poverty worse / Antonia Jubasz -- High population growth is exacerbating world poverty / Population Reports -- The world can sustain its growing population / Nicholas Eberstadt -- Genetically modified crops are helping to reduce world hunger / Willy De Greef -- Genetically modified crops are not reducing world hunger / John Robbins.