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The article discusses the consequences of the option to choose health insurance or not choosing it as per the upcoming offer by the U.S. House speaker Paul D. Ryan. It states that the Republicans would soon vote to overrule the Affordable Care Act. It says that the welfare reform will definitely hurt the poor people as losing the Medicaid will mean poorer health for them.

The article examines why people in poor regions of the U.S. vote for Republican politicians who promote reductions in social safety-net programs. According to the author, the people who rely most on such programs are not voting, while people who are slightly better off vote for Republican candidates based on negative perceptions and feelings of resentment towards their communities' poorest members. Topics discussed include economic inequality and the rural poor.

The article focuses on the U.S. political party the Republican Party and their stance on welfare assistance and poverty. Topics include the cut in welfare benefits passed by Arizona in July 2015, the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and the history of welfare reform under the administration of former U.S. president Bill Clinton.

The article discusses low-income American workers who are employed but still rely on public assistance such as food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Medicaid, noting the implications in terms of taxpayer costs resulting from low-wage labor. Topics addressed include movements and state legislation aimed at raising the minimum wage, as well as calls to raise wages at fast food company McDonald's.

The author comments on what he perceives as a lack of progress in the United States government's efforts to fight poverty within the U.S. as of December 17, 2013, highlighting challenges facing the implementation of government benefit programs for the poor. Topics addressed include government benefit programs such as unemployment insurance and food stamps, as well as changes in the U.S. economy and welfare programs since 1967.

The author reflects on a study by Pew Research Center which revealed that most wealthy Americans believed that poor people live easy because of the benefits they get from the government, when in fact they have hard lives because government benefits do not go far enough to help them.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "The Wrong Way to Help the Poor," by Gary E. MacDougal, in the October 11, 2012 issue.

For years, state welfare offices like the one alongside Interstate 30 have drawn the unemployed. But these days, the red-brick building here is also attracting poor, working parents with an unexpected offer: $204 a month in cash. Shelly Thomas, a stockroom clerk and single mother, is using her windfall from the State of Arkansas to tune up the old Chevrolet she drives to work. Talia Greenwood, a day care worker with four children, spends the money on gas, diapers and baby formula. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Reports that an international team sponsored by the United Nations proposed a detailed, ambitious plan that it says could halve extreme poverty and save the lives of millions of children and hundreds of thousands of mothers each year by 2015. Requirement that industrial nations double aid to poor countries, to one-half of one percent of national incomes from one-quarter of one percent; Support for reforms to ease trade barriers and sweeping investments in health, education, rural development, road building, housing and scientific research.

Focuses on the inability of Vilma Gomes, a widowed mother of three children to find an accounting work in New York City. Solicitation of financial assistance from the Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens; Absence of a main source of income; Volatility of the family's finances.

Reports on the financial assistance offered to the family of immigrant Samuel Levayan from The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund in New York City. Employment of Levayan to become certified fire and security guard; Social participation of Levayan in Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous; Dreams of Levayan for his children.

Offers a look at a policy adopted by the Healthcare Association of New York State regarding the treatment of uninsured patients. Claim that the new policy is an attempt to head off state and federal legislation requiring hospitals to treat their poorest patients more gently; Fees charged to Medicare and Medicaid patients; Provision of charity care by New York hospitals; Reference to a study conducted by the Legal Aid Society; Statement that the new policy prohibits foreclosing on a home.

Focuses on premarital classes in the United States. Background on Leo Godzich's class in Phoenix, Arizona; Proposed initiative by the U.S. President George W. Bush administration to use federal money to promote marriage among low-income families; How marriage education is booming in the U.S.; Ways that states have used federal money to promote marriage; Background on Arizona's program; Outlook.

Offers a look at the overhaul of welfare in the United States. Report that many who have left welfare have no jobs; Rise of poverty; Reference to a report issued by the Urban Institute in Washington; Estimate that ten to fifteen percent of all those who left welfare since the legislation of 1996 have become significantly worse off financially; Inability for many former welfare recipients to keep jobs; Criticism of the legislation; Comment by Wendell Primus, the former deputy assistant secretary of health and human services in charge of welfare reform in the President Bill Clinton administration.

Reports on an elderly woman living in poverty. Worsening conditions for the elderly in New York City; Woman who thought her future was secure; Series of tragedies which left her with nothing but Social Security; Possible loss of Medicaid and food stamps because of part-time job wages; Free time which is spent at a senior center; Daily walk which helps stem depression.

Examines eligibility requirements in United States President George W. Bush's proposed budget that would make it more difficult for low-income families to obtain government benefits, from tax credits to school lunches. Argument that much of the federal money intended for poor people is diverted through error and fraud; Criticism of the stricter requirements; Implications of shifting money and responsibility for social welfare programs, including Medicaid, to the states; Overview of the proposed changes.

Describes the status of poor people in New York City who are left without public assistance under the welfare-to-work policy, which include Jasmin Agosto.

Focuses on the drop in the number of public assistance recipients in New York City, despite a rise in unemployment and the number of homeless families. Impact of poor economic conditions; Debate about welfare; Indication that the poor are in increasing distress.

Reports on the efforts of Wade Horn, the official who oversees the United States welfare program, to promote and encourage marriage among low-income people. Review and reauthorization of a 1996 welfare law; Why the administration of United States President George W. Bush believes that promoting marriage may aid low-income welfare recipients; Governmental support for programs that help individuals sustain healthy marriages, and thus a healthy environment for children to live in.

Reports on the welfare system in New York City. Impact of unemployment, increased homelessness, and the September 11 terrorist attacks on welfare; New York City Budget Office's predictions for the growth of welfare; Difficulty discerning whether the welfare rolls are increasing or decreasing.

Looks at the impact of Wisconsin's welfare system on Milwaukee's poor citizens. Welfare caseloads having shrunk nearly 25 percent in 1996; Figures on families on welfare in Milwaukee and in the United States as a whole; Milwaukee as the the first city in the US to enforce the kind of strict rules envisioned by the federal welfare law signed by President Bill Clinton in August 1996; Question of what has happened to the low-income people leaving the welfare rolls.

Discusses the plight of the poor in New York City. Outline of case of Mary Wolfe; Charities supported by the New York Times Neediest Cases Fund for the poor; Effect of state and city budget cuts on social-service programs. INSET: The persistence of poverty..

Discusses the report by the Citizens Budget Commission, which found that Medicaid, not welfare, has been the prime engine of growth in public spending on the poor in New York City, and that welfare, when adjusted for inflation, declined by 20% since 1975. Questions raised on whether government spends too much on medical care as compared with food, shelter and other basic needs; Spending skewed toward elderly and away from children.