According to the AP, U.S. poverty levels are spiking during a time when the government is cutting funding (due to the sequester) for programs aimed to help the poor, like Head Start, which "provides educational services for low-income pre-school children and frees single mothers to find work without the huge expense of childcare."

I'd hate to bring the mood down right before Thanksgiving, but Frontline has an excellent documentary that we should all watch about poverty in America through the eyes of poor children living in cities like New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix and San Francisco. The children are aware of the circumstances they are in.

This New York Times Magazine feature on how Obama's early experience in the poverty-stricken neighborhood of Roseland in Chicago kindled his political ambitions for change, and made urban poverty a focus of his campaign is comprehensive and very interesting—mostly because urban poverty has virtually disappeared as a key issue for the president.

The colors and the foods and the descriptions and the vistas and the cinematography are always so beautiful that I'm always like, ugh, why do I have to live in this ugly country?

Poverty, education, and socioeconomic disadvantages all play a role in moderating gun deaths, according to this story in Atlantic Cities.

The Financial Times examined some of India's newest richest people (men), and found that as India's economy rapidly grew in the last decade, the wealth began corrupting people (surprise!).

She might have worked at data entry forever had SourceCorp not laid her off. “I used to do the only thing I thought I could earn money from,” she says, “but I was kind of content.” Not content in a happy way but content in that she wasn’t looking for any other type of work. “It’s sometimes easier to stay where you’re at, instead of trying to get to someplace else.”

The American Prospect has a very good profile of Sue Christian, a mother of two who lives in one of America’s poorest counties: Owsley County in Booneville, Kentucky where 40 percent of the population lives in poverty. At 40, Sue decided to go to college so she could get a job in education to earn more money, and six months after graduating, was able to land a job working with middle school students. Sue gets a happy ending.

What was interesting to me, though, was that Sue was content (though not happy) to continue working at a job that paid her minimum wage, and didn’t get the wakeup call that she could be doing something better—and better paid—with her life until she was laid off from her job.

I think about all the times I’ve been content (but not happy) with a job because it met my basic needs, and why I was willing to stay at those jobs for so long even if they’re not fulfilling.

Sue is right: It’s always easier to stay where you’re at, instead of trying to get to someplace else. But every time I had a wakeup call to try to get to that someplace else, I’ve always been better for it. I’m here, aren’t I?

Photo: Shutterstock/Joanne Harris

Basically, this says that since I'm not worried about how I'm going to pay rent next month, or whether or not I'll have enough money to buy groceries, I can think about what I need to do over the long-term to stay financially stable. People without money spend much of their time figuring out how to address these immediate needs, so saving for the future isn't as important as paying for the things they need now.

This paper by researchers from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Johns Hopkins University is worth looking at—especially during an election year when there's a question about how effective President Obama has been on reducing poverty.

"Hey nuns! Stop helping poor people so much, and start dedicating more time to hot button issues that won't actually accomplish anything except remind everyone that the Catholic Church is against abortion and gay marriage!