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The article discusses U.S. Federal Communication Commission (F.C.C.) chairman Tom Wheeler's efforts to change Lifeline, a subsidy program that aids low-income people with their phone bills in order to apply to broadband Internet access as well. Topics addressed include the importance of Internet in the lives of low-income Americans, as well as critics of the Lifeline program.

Reports that the U.S. President George W. Bush administration has proposed reducing the value of subsidized-housing vouchers given to poor New York City residents in 2005, with even bigger cuts planned for some urban New England areas. How the proposal is based on a disputed new formula; Potential impact on poor families, who will be forced to pay hundreds of extra dollars per month in rent; Overview of the Section 8 program, which will be affected; Rationale for changing the Section 8 program, according to the housing secretary, Alphonso Jackson; Issue of fair market rents; Observation of some housing groups that many predominantly Democratic states, including New York and Massachusetts, fare poorly under the new proposals, while Republican states tend to benefit; Outlook.

Reports on the proposal of Argentine President Fernando de la Rua and other government officials to offer subsidies to the poor as part of an economic plan to revive the nation's economy.