A Top Priority: Family Planning Assistance for Rural America
T HE American people have been concerned about rural poverty for some time. As a nation, we took our first significant actions to correct the rural poverty situation in the 1860's [11, p. 1352]. One hundred and ten years later we find the problems are still with us. Through the years our farm programs have not been successful in eliminating the causes of rural poverty. Rural America has had a high rate of human fertility when compared with the urban sector. In 1960 the rural farm fertility rate for all women ever married was 50 percent higher than for women in urbanized areas. In the younger age group, 20 to 24 years, rural farm women had 1.29 children for every one born to urban women [16, p. 359]. Recently there have been serious discussions suggesting that this high rate of fertility is contributing significantly to the continuing economic plight of rural people. It is the purpose of this paper to point out the need for continuing discussion, study, and, eventually, adoption of a national family planning assistance program for the rural poor. The time has come to recognize that high fertility in rural America only magnifies the traditional indicators of rural poverty such as low income, inadequate educational opportunity, and insufficient health care. It is time to recognize the evidence that rural parents do want smaller families.
The Economic Dimensions Of Rural Poverty
The farm sector of the United States is fast approaching its equilibrium asymptote in relation to the rest of the economy. The facts are simple and even startling to one who last looked at them five years ago. By 1967, as Table 1 shows, the one million successful American farms produced all but 15 percent of the output and wound up with a total family income averaging $14,000. Both the intermediate group (sales $2,500-10,000) and the non-commercial group (sales less than $2,500) were averaging nearly $7,000 per farm family from all sources. It is very clear that these two groups, comprising over 2 million farms are no longer primarily engaged in farming. In seven years, the intermediate group switched its income dependence from farm to non-farm income, and the non-commercial group did more than twice as well as before in non-farm income. Moreover, even the lower end of the farm income distribution is no longer in dire poverty; these families prudently substitute enough non-farm income to replace on-farm opportunities. It should also be noted that in the whole of farming, non-farm sources of income are just as important as farm sources.
Woodrow Wilson: The Essential Political Writings
Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Introduction to Wilson's Political Thought Part 3 Progress and the Organic State Chapter 4 The State (chapters 1, 2, 13, 16) Chapter 5 "Christ's Army" Chapter 6 "Christian Progress" Part 7 Political Liberty and the Scope and Ends of Government Chapter 8 "Socialism and Democracy" Chapter 9 "A Calendar of Great Americans" Chapter 10 "Address on Thomas Jefferson" Chapter 11 "The Authors and Signers of the Declaration of Independence" Chapter 12 The New Freedom (chapters 1, 2) Part 13 Institutional Reform Chapter 14 "Cabinet Government in the United States" Chapter 15 Congressional Government (chapter 2 & conclusion) Chapter 16 Constitutional Government in the United States (chapters 3, 8) Chapter 17 "Wanted - A Party" Part 18 Political and Administrative Leadership Chapter 19 "Leaders of Men" Chapter 20 "The Study of Administration" Part 21 Foreign Policy Chapter 22 "War Message to Congress" Chapter 23 "Fourteen Points" Part 24 Appendix A. Chronology of Wilson's Academic Work and Other Selected Events Part 25 Appendix B. Selected Bibliography