Americans' pride and faith of their economic system,     1    that it provides opportunities for all citizens to have good lives, are     2    by the     3    that poverty persists in many parts of the country.
    Government anti-poverty efforts have made some progress but have not eradicated the problem.     4    , periods of strong economic growth, which bring more jobs and higher wages, have     5    poverty but have not     6    it entirely.
    The federal government     7    poverty line as a minimum     8    of income     9    for basic maintenance of a family of four. This amount may fluctuate     10    the cost of living and the location of the family. In 1998, a family of four with an annual income below $16,530 was classified     11    living in poverty.
    The percentage of people living below poverty line dropped from 22.4 percent in 1959 to 11.4 percent in 1978. But     12    , it has fluctuated in a fairly narrow range. In 1998, it stood at 12.7 percent.
        13    , the overall figures mask much more severe pockets of poverty. In 1998, more than one- quarter of all African-Americans lived in poverty; though     14    high, that figure did represent an improvement from 1979 when 31 percent of blacks were officially classified as poor.
    There are     15    estimations on the accuracy of official poverty figures. Some analysts have suggested that the official poverty figures     16    the real     17    of poverty because they measure only cash income and exclude certain government assistance programs such as Food Stamps. Others point out, however, that these programs     18    cover all of a family's food or health care needs.     19    others point out that people at the poverty line sometimes receive cash income from     20    work and in the underground sector of economy which is never recorded in official statistics.