The Welfare Reform Bill and its Effects in the South

“The majority of Americans now living in comfortable circumstances should become better off, not worse off, as a result of such a (redistribution) policy. To get this dynamic thought understood and widely accepted is the major task for all who would enlighten public opinion in America†.The number of Americans living in poverty increased by an estimated 1.2 million during 1969 and 1970, reversing the downward trend in numbers of poor registered through the 1960's. It seems a paradox that 12 percent of our citizens live in poverty in a trillion dollar economy. The grossly unequal distribution of income is illustrated by the fact that average annual after-tax personal income was $3,098 per person in 1970. Yet, 25 million lived below the 1970 poverty level, defined as $3,944 for a family of four. Roughly speaking, those living in poverty existed on incomes of less than one-third of the national per capita level. This paper is not concerned with the highly skewed distribution of personal income, but is directed to the effects on those living below or near the officially defined poverty level.