Show Who Are The Poor Who are the poor A recent report of the Presidents President's Commission on Income Maintenance Program Poverty Amid Plenty The American Paradox In calling calling call call- ing for sweeping welfare reforms described described de de- scribed them as follows At the end of 1968 there were 25 million poor Americans as measured by the Federal Governments Government's poverty index This index allows a non-farm non family of four per year or 2 43 per person per day to meet all living expenses In contrast to the poverty index a recent Department of Labor study found that an urban American family of four needed at least 4 05 per person per day to meet its needs Using the lower official poverty definition definition de de- we find that about one-half one of all poor families live In the South two-fifth two of the poor are children under 18 two-thirds two are white one-fifth one are over age 65 and perhaps most striking striking ing of all over third one-third of the poor live in families in which the family head works throughout the year Among the working poor the average gap between family income and the poverty line exceeds 1000 The barren life styles of the poor are not primarily the result of Ignorance ignorance ance or indifference but rather the result result re reo sult suit of insufficient money with which to purchase proper food housing medical medical med med- ical leal attention and other basic amenities of contemporary life The urgency of the problems of low-income low persons and the lasting effects of their to day-to-day deprivation are compelling I i |