‘Culture of Poverty’ Makes a Comeback

In this article, Patricia Cohen analyzes the term "culture of Poverty" made famous by Daniel Patrick Moynihan in 1965. This negative term used to describe black, poor people places blame on the individuals by sending the idea that attitudes and behavior patterns kept people poor, therefore, it must be their own fault for remaining in such a cycle. For obvious fear of being politically incorrect, this term has been shunned for years but has just recently surfaced on the poverty research agenda.This is because views on the cultural roots of poverty will directly influence how lawmakers choose to address the poverty issue. It is interesting how the way a public issue is defined has so much effect on how lawmakers choose to tackle it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/18/us/18poverty.html?_r=1&ref=politics

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