Section I: Who Are the Poor? --
Chapter 2: Most Americans Will Experience Poverty --
Chapter 3: The Poor Tend to Live Outside of Impoverished Inner City --
Chapter 4: Poverty Spells Are Short but Frequent --
Chapter 5: Whites Comprise the Largest Racial Group Experiencing Poverty --
Section II: Why Is There Poverty? --
Chapter 6: Hard Work is Not Sufficient --
Chapter 7: Raising Education and Skill Levels Will Not Solve Poverty Alone --
Chapter 8: Decision Making is Constrained for Those With Fewer Resources --
Chapter 9: Poverty is Preventable --
Section III: What Is the Cost of Poverty? --
Chapter 10: America's Poor Are Worse Off than Elsewhere --
Chapter 11: The Economic Cost of Poverty Is Enormous --
Chapter 12: The Moral Ground to View Poverty Is Injustice --
Section IV: Does Welfare Work? --
Chapter 13: The U.S. Welfare State is Minimal --
Chapter 14: Welfare Fraud is Scarce --
Chapter 15: Government Programs Can Reduce Poverty --
Section V: How Extensive Is Inequality? --
Chapter 16: The U.S. is No Longer a Land of Upward Mobility and Opportunity --
Chapter 17: The Playing Field is Uneven --
Chapter 18: Inequality Matters --
Section VI: Pulling It Together --
Chapter 19: Why Do the Myths Persist? --
Chapter 20: Reshaping Social Policy --
Chapter 21: Creating Change.