sult of the effects of the Welfare Reform Act of 1996. In Arlington, Texas the number of welfare cases decreased by almost 35,000 from 1994 to 1999, while the number of people served by Arlington-area charity groups increased almost 20,000 during the same time period (Prince 2). But what of the 15,000 unaccounted-for cases? It is not known whether these people are now employed or if they slipped through the cracks. At the current rate of increased reliance on private charity, Arlington food banks are finding it difficult to meet the need. With some government subsidizing, the food banks could meet the needs of the increased number of people who seek their services.Although it is probably impossible to achieve complete freedom from poverty, society need not sit idly by in the face of such a monumental challenge. Indeed, it is the public duty of each individual to aid in the improvement of the lives of poor persons around the nation and around the world. Large-scale, complex systems such as the one now in place in America, only serve to create an inefficient, costly effort that could be achieved with less manpower and fewer dollars. Government oversight and subsidizing of private contributions toward the elimination of poverty is a far more efficient, adaptive, and economical way of working toward the eradication of the problem of poverty....
