THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130010
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 29 lines
Regarding the ``myths of welfare'' report: I was very upset by the way the article manipulated its percentages.
It stated that more whites are on welfare than blacks. That may be true, but let's look at the real numbers.
According to the 1990 Census, 80 percent of the population of the United States is white, while only 12 percent is black. The actual number of whites on welfare is 5.9 million. The actual number of blacks on welfare is 5.6 million. What is so appalling to me is the fact that 18.7 percent of the black population of this country is on welfare compared to only 3 percent of the white population.
Something must be done to a system that allows nearly one out of five people of a racial group to be on welfare, supported by the taxpayers of this country. Let's give the Republicans a chance to correct this problem.
JOHN OLIVER
Portsmouth, Dec. 7, 1994 by CNB