An overview of poverty in the United States, including the latest Census Bureau estimates and distribution issues. Includes links and recent news.

Articles on poverty and Social Security from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a liberal public policy research organization.

Ohio State University extension fact sheet on poverty and its official definitation, with an emphasis on poverty in Ohio.

Study from the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities on the effectiveness of government programs in reducing poverty.

Overview of the official methodology used to calculate poverty in the United States from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Article investigates the causes, modus-operandi and issues of begging in India; includes a number of photographs.

Article on the negative effects of the lottery. "People go there seeking hope, seeking huge benefits; instead they get ripped off, impoverished by the state government that was elected to protect them. The average person who consistently invests in the lottery will remain poor forever."

850 Kb PDF file. A look at the actual material living standards of persons defined as "poor" demonstrates that the Census Bureau's official poverty report is misleading.

An overview of the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), a generic federal block grant program for social services in the United States. Includes information on funding, services provided, and the program's legislative history.

This article discusses and compares the welfare state in Britain, France, Sweden, Germany, the United States, the European Union and developing countries.

Recession and Sept. 11 are causing more homelessness, which may echo '80s crisis. From the Christian Science Monitor.

Opinion pieces examining the roots of discrimination against the needy, especially neighborhood NIMBY opposition to social services siting in Buffalo, New York, by William W. Berry.