The recent upsurge in persistent urban poverty has been generated by a particular set of American political responses to structural transformation of the global and domestic economies, exacerbated considerably by a long process of highly subsidized suburbanization and racism. Persistent poverty is connected to the following structures and processes: (1) the global economy; (2) the United States' industrial structure; (3) Federal social policy; (4) urban labor markets; and (5) local politics and policy. The increasingly integrated and competitive global economy has forced U.S. corporations to search for cheaper ways to compete, resulting in a steady erosion of the power of the working man in the United States and a reduction in his standard of living. Job losses, cuts in social programs, and the replacement of community and collective interests with self-interest have worsened the situation of Blacks and Latinos, who have traditionally suffered from low wages, bad housing, and poor schools. The situation of the poor can be radically improved through a staged process of local empowerment, the formation of new political coalitions, and the consequent "bottom up" restructuring of national priorities. Statistical data are presented in six tables and 30 graphs. (FMW)