text: In 1995 the poverty level for a family of four in the United States was $19,806. 37 million people in the US live at or below this level. Ron Sider correctly asserts that it is morally unacceptable for 37 million people to live in poverty in this country while the wealthiest people are gaining a larger percentage of all wealth. In Just Generosity, Sider presents his vision for overcoming poverty in America. And it is a compelling vision.
  
  Sider's vision is distinctive because he acknowledges that poverty is caused by both systemic injustice in society's structures and by poor moral decisions by impoverished individuals. Both must be addressed in order to stop cycles of poverty.  
  
  Drawing upon biblical study, Sider presents the goal of an economy of justice: "Every person or family has access to productive resources (land, money, knowledge) so they have the opportunity to earn a generous sufficiency of material necessities and be dignified participating members of their community" (81). Sider deals with a vast array of programs and issues like welfare, minimum wage, tax credits, health care, and education reform, showing how each could be employed in ways that encourage work, empower the poor, and strengthen families.
  
  Sider ends with this troubling question: Do enough Christians really care? This book should be required reading for any that do.
  