I only need to share a quote from Is It Now a Crime to Be Poor? – NYTimes.com for you to get the gist of the question:

“In defiance of all reason and compassion, the criminalization of poverty has actually been intensifying as the recession generates ever more poverty.In defiance of all reason and compassion, the criminalization of poverty has actually been intensifying as the recession generates ever more poverty.”

This is chilling, really chilling.