As we sit in our homes, watching images of skinny children on the other side of the world materialize on the television screen, we feel sad for the children but are more relieved that this plague is not here. Although poverty is spreading globally, as programs, organizations and people come together in the effort to fight this growing virus. The poverty rate in America was stable at 15% during the year 2011-2012. Although based on official data, poverty today is much higher than in the past. This fact may seem depressing and suggests that people who pay taxes are wasting millions of dollars a year trying to fight a losing war on poverty. According to Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, we have spent “15 trillion dollars to fight poverty,” even though we currently have “the highest poverty rate in a generation, 15 percent of Americans in poverty.” There is no doubt that it may seem that our valiant effort was in vain, even though poverty itself is a strong and persistent enemy that has been bitterly fought and oppressed over the years. I have to say that Mr. Ryan is absolutely me...