Urban Injustice How Ghettos Happen Author:David Hilfiker Dr. David Hilfiker is a writer and a physician whose life mission has been to help the urban poor. Here, in clear, accessible language, he presents a history of poverty in America and analyzes anti-poverty programs since the New Deal. Hilfiker debunks the idea that the urban poor siphon off precious government resources. Instead, he shows not on... more »ly that the most expensive programs, like Medicare and Social Security, primarily help the middle class, not the poor, but also that public assistance programs directed toward the poor are instituted with far less ambitious goals. He cuts a clear path through the history of societal poverty and demonstrates that government responses have actually been very effective at some times for some people but have lacked the leadership and conviction to end the cycle of urban poverty.« less