The article gives a good brief tour of the problems that amplify for the poor in times of economic pullback. No details are provided on the philosophy and actors responsible for the policy changes that left assistance programs scarce. That omission suggests a lack of political courage in this story.

Basically a so what? article. Nothing here we have not already experienced throughout past recessions. Pretty thin stuff even for Time.

One of the better stories on the new poverty projections published by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Ties in Obama Administration, along with historical comparison. (see related links for comparative evaluations)

This article is missing an important piece of information: an explanation of why, historically or otherwise, the numbers of those living in poverty grow during a recession. It's easy to intuit the cause of this -- layoffs, increase in goods prices, wage cuts, pension cuts -- but there's no reason not to spell it out here. But this story presents data on poverty in a virtual vacuum, with inadequate context. The kicker to this story is also aggravating. All opinions aside, the $700 billion bailout was not designed to address the needs of the nation's poorest. Last sentence is tacky.

Its a rather skimpy article, it could use more depth on every aspect. States the obvious for these tough periods

He;s reading government statistic provided by the government.