This reading covers the facets of Poverty in Texas in three parts. The first covers areas such as how to define poverty and the various ways poverty has been viewed over time. It also discusses the many explanation that have been offered as to why poverty exists and persists in a country such as the United States. The second examines what policies are in place to confront the issue of poverty, how those policies have changed over time, and what the current strengths and weakness are of policies now in place. The third section deals briefly with global poverty.