1. After reading the textbook, my view of who constitutes the poor is essentially the same, though I would add that the poor are those who are not able to maintain independence due to financial as well as psychological issues.
2. My view is also unchanged on this topic.
3. Globally, politics play a huge role in the creation of and potential to eliminate poverty. People become victims of the political machine and critical resources are usurped from the very people who need them the most. In some ways, though not as much, politics plays role in the U.S., as well. Resources tend to blow with political winds for and against the people most in need. Additionally, there are differing perspectives on who is poor and how they got that way and what it would take to help or resolve their issues. This naturally drives different schools of thought on resolution.
4. I don't think poverty is enough of a priority in the U.S. We seem as a nation to be more concerned with the plight of others in the world. The chronically poor are an invisible, voiceless, powerless entity in this country. The "haves" overall show little concern for the "have-nots."
5. I would suggest that the best way to permanently address poverty will take time (as with any genuine solution, rather than a patchwork temporary fix). In the U.S., we must address and resolve deficits in education and job skills prep so that people have the resources to engage mainstream in the free market society. Globally, the problem is not one so much of resource but access. That will require getting past the the monsters holding back resources in an effort to manipulate political power.