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Permalink Reply by Joan Denoo on January 21, 2013 at 11:07pm

Mitt Romney and the Lazy Poor

1959-2010 USA poverty rate 

LOW-INCOME WORKING FAMILIES: THE GROWING ECONOMIC GAP

"nearly one third of all working families—32 percent—may not have enough money to meet basic needs. At the same time, inequality among working families is increasing, as higher-income families receive a larger share of income relative to families at the bottom of the income distribution,” according to a report released Tuesday by the Working Poor Families Project.

Do you remember when LBJ signed the Higher Education Facilities Act of 1963 that authorized several times more college aid within a five-year period than had been appropriated under the Land Grant College in a century, and provided better college libraries, ten to twenty new graduate centers, several new technical institutes, classrooms for several hundred thousand students, and twenty-five to thirty new community colleges a year "followed by the Higher Education Act of 1965, which increased federal money given to universities, created scholarships and low-interest loans for students, and established a national Teacher Corps to provide teachers to poverty-stricken areas of the United States. The Act also began a transition from federally funded institutional assistance to individual student aid."

I remember that era very well when JFK started the drive to get better education for our students and LBJ continued when JFK was assassinated. Many more young people could go to community colleges who hadn't been able to go to Land Grant Colleges or private colleges. This great shift meant better education, better opportunities for skilled trades and professions. It was a big turning point. Now look at the poverty chart and see how the poverty line moved downward. Better education wasn't the only thing that lifted working people out of poverty, but it made a great difference.  The portion of Americans living below the poverty line dropped from 22.2 percent to 12.6 percent, the most dramatic decline over such a brief period in this century. What Was Really Great About The Great Society.

Sadly, costs of the Viet Nam War and multiple recessions dampened progress. 

Permalink Reply by Lillie on January 21, 2013 at 11:36pm

What upsets me is that our churches are so concerned with poverty in foreign countries in the desire to convert them but are not concerned with people in the USA going to bed hungry.  Also, that religion is so concerned about "pro-life" but not about helping children born into poverty.