University of Virginia Library

Poverty In The Country

A recent report from the President's
National Advisory Committee on Rural
Poverty points up a very real problem in
the country's present war on poverty. The
160-page report describes the situation of the
rural poor as a "national disgrace"
and recommends methods by which it might
be combated.

The document noted numerous examples
of the plight of the 14 million poverty stricken
rural Americans. The rural educational
average is ninth grade, and even that
level is seldom achieved by the very poor.
One of the five people living in rural
America is unemployed; one in four is
officially "poor." Food and housing are
inadequate, education and employment are
often not available, and that education which
is available is often third-rate at best.

In the face of this condition, the report
concluded that the national government was
doing far less than it could to help the
rural poor. Present programs are described
as "relics of an earlier era," which have
"helped to create wealthy landlords while
largely bypassing the poor."

All this brings up an interesting question
concerning present policies aimed at alleviating
poverty. These programs are concentrated
almost wholly on the urban areas.
Millions of dollars flow into ghettos and
slums in our cities, while the poor in rural
areas enjoy no comparable aid. The result
is that the poor from the country are migrating
to the cities in ever-increasing numbers,
adding to the problems of urban poverty.

The United States undertook a great task
when it undertook the war on poverty,
but it must not be limited to the cities.
The report stated as a fundamental assertion
that "The United States today has
the economic and technical means to guarantee
adequate food, shelter, health services,
and education to every member of the
Nation." We hope that the Congress will
consider this report and take appropriate
action to insure that those people living in
rural America will get the same consideration
as the city-dwellers.

DKS