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Poverty In America: Defining The New Poor. Hide captionPresident Clinton prepares to sign legislation overhauling America's welfare system at the White House Rose Garden on Aug. 22, 1996. Today, the ranks of the nation's poor have swelled to a record 46.2 million — nearly 1 in 6 Americans — as the prolonged pain of the recession leaves millions still struggling and out of work. J. Scott Applewhite /AP Welfare changes in the 1990s helped slash cash benefit rolls, yet the use of food stamps is soaring today.

About 15 percent of Americans use food stamps. A big reason why is a deal struck between President Clinton and the Republican-controlled Congress in 1996. The Clinton overhaul made it much harder to qualify for those payments, and today the welfare rolls are down 70 percent, but that's only if you define welfare in one way. "We decided cash assistance is welfare and that's bad, but we decided food aid is nutritional assistance and that's good," says New York Times reporter Jason DeParle. The New Poor The '90s Welfare Overhaul. Single Mothers And The Cycle Of Poverty. Robert Siegel speaks with Olivia Golden, fellow at the Urban Institute, about why there has been an increase of single mothers who are in poverty.

Copyright © 2012 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required. Joining us now is Olivia Golden. Welcome to the program. OLIVIA GOLDEN: Thank you. SIEGEL: We just heard Jennifer Stepp's story. GOLDEN: Well, there's one way that Jennifer is typical which is that she's working and she's facing all the issues of trying to balance work in a low-paying job with also being there for her kids and raising them.

She's not typical in that she has a full-time and steady job. SIEGEL: Is the kind of support system and help that she gets, does that strike you as typical of what women in this situation have around the country? GOLDEN: Well, that was fascinating to me 'cause she really has a terrific support system, given what she's coping with.

GOLDEN: Well, I think there've been lots of debate. Why Is Poverty, Inequality Growing? Copyright © 2012 NPR. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required. I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Later in the program, we are going to talk about a highly touted education program that's come under new scrutiny, including from a former member. We'll talk about the debate over Teach for America. That's in just a few minutes. But first, we want to spend some time today talking about what was always expected to be the central issue in this presidential campaign: the economy. And we'll just let you know up front that our next two guests have both written provocative books that both tilt to the fairness side of the argument, but they come at the question from slightly different perspectives.

Peter Edelman is a professor of law and the faculty director of the Center on Poverty, Inequality and Public Policy at Georgetown University. Also with us, Timothy Noah. Thank you both so much for speaking with us. Struggling Families Lift Themselves Out Of Poverty. Hide captionSupport group members Pamela Travis (from left), Dominique Martin, Yovanda Dixon, Shanna Chaney and Ramona Shewl hold a meeting as part of the Family Independence Initiative. The Oakland nonprofit encourages low-income families to form small groups to help each other get ahead. Pam Fessler/NPR It's been almost 50 years since President Lyndon Johnson declared a "War on Poverty. " But today, the poverty rate in the U.S. is the highest it's been in 17 years, affecting some 46 million people.

The economy is partly to blame, but even in good times, millions of Americans are poor. That's been a longtime concern for Maurice Lim Miller. "The very first kids I had trained back in the early '80s, I saw their kids now showing up in my programs," he says. He asked himself, "What am I actually accomplishing? " A Call To End Poverty Then, Miller got the kind of opportunity someone like him only dreams about. Setting Their Own Goals Dixon knows, at 263 pounds, she has a few to lose. Early Success. Poverty USA | What is poverty? | Where is the poverty line? | Who is poor? Stack-PPT. How America's Losing The War On Poverty. Hide captionMembers of the Dolan family walk home with bags of food from the Southern Tier Mobile Food Pantry in Oswego, N.Y., in June.

Food banks across the nation are reporting giant spikes in demand. Spencer Platt/Getty Images Members of the Dolan family walk home with bags of food from the Southern Tier Mobile Food Pantry in Oswego, N.Y., in June. Food banks across the nation are reporting giant spikes in demand. While President Obama and Gov. Romney battle for the hearts and minds of the middle class this election season, there's a huge swath of Americans that are largely ignored. It's the poor, and their ranks are growing. According to a recent survey by The Associated Press, the number of Americans living at or below the poverty line will reach its highest point since President Johnson made his famous declaration of war on poverty in 1964. Close to 16 percent of Americans now live at or below the poverty line. 'I've Never Seen Anything As Bad As Now' Who Is Poor?

Poverty In The U.S. By The Numbers. Cycle Of Poverty Hard To Break In Poorest U.S. City. In the middle of the night, most children are home in bed. But at the Second Street Learning Center in Reading, Pa., a half-dozen tiny bodies are curled up on green plastic floor mats, fast asleep. With 41.3 percent of its residents living below the poverty line, Reading, Pa., is the poorest U.S. city with a population of 65,000 or more. Conversations are hushed. The lights are dim. At 1:30 a.m., day care worker Virginia Allen gently shakes two little sisters, snuggled under the same blanket, to tell them that their mother is there to pick them up.

"Let's go. Mommy's here," she says, telling these children what they already know: It's time to get up, so they can go home for a little more sleep before they have to get up again and get ready for school. It's another day — or in this case night — at a center where parents can bring their children at any hour of the day or night. Many low-income families in Reading rely on this center, which is something of a safe haven in a troubled city. University: Campus Ministry.