Concentrated Poverty

six weeks. Years later, a writer in The
Nation remarked that "the war on
poverty has too often been a war on the
poor themselves," but that much can be
done.
single-parent households,
rampant illiteracy, drugs and
crime - these have been both
the results of and causes of
persistent poverty. While it is
thus inappropriate to celebrate
an anniversary of the war on
In 1989, the former executive officer of
the Task Force on Poverty Hyman
Bookbinder addressed such criticisms of
the "war on poverty" in an op-ed in The
New York Times.
He wrote that:
Today, the ranks of the poor are
again swelling ... These and
other statistics have led
careless observers to conclude
that the war on poverty failed.
No, it has achieved many good
results. Society has failed. It
tired of the war too soon, gave it
inadequate resources and did
not open up new fronts as
required.
Large-scale
homelessness, an explosion of
teen-age pregnancies and
poverty, it is important to point
up some of the big gains ... Did
every program of the 60's work?
Was every dollar used to its
maximum potential? Should
every Great Society program be
reinstated or increased? Of
course not ... First, we cannot
afford not to resume the war.
One way or another, the
problem will remain expensive.
Somehow, we will provide for
the survival needs of the
poorest: welfare, food stamps,
beds and roofs for the
homeless, Medicaid. The fewer
poor there are, the fewer the
relief problems. Getting people
out of poverty is the most costeffective
public investment."
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