The Nation - News from Sept. 2, 1985

House Speaker Thomas P. (Tip) O’Neill Jr. (D-Mass.), in a statement for the Labor Day weekend, blamed Administration economic policies for creating a “belt of depression” through America’s heartland. “Our unemployed workers pay the cost of an Administration borrowing spree that runs government on the cuff, that pays for its deficits with chits paid abroad,” O’Neill said. He added that the Administration had “bragged” last week about reducing poverty. “What is there to brag about?” O’Neill asked. “In 1980, 13% of Americans lived in poverty. Today, the figure is 14.4%.”