This is an important book.  This is also a shocking book.   The full title is “The Poverty Industry: The Exploitation of America’s Most Vulnerable Citizens”.  The author Daniel L. Hatcher is Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore.

We have a variety of programs to help those in poverty.  Some address specific problems.  Others address the problems of the poor in a more general fashion.  Some are administered by the federal government; others are administered by state and local governments.

Professor Hatcher documents how some of these funds are being diverted for purposes not related to poverty.  Often this takes the form of fraudulently stealing the federal benefits of people being ‘helped’ by the state or local government.  In some cases, the private sector helps the state or local government maximize revenues taking money that should go to the poor and so earns a cut of the ill-gotten gains.

I do not think this book would appeal to most readers.  The focus is a narrow one.  But if you have an interest in poverty-related issues, this documents important problems in our attempts address poverty and improve the lives of the poor.