Are the times of The Grapes of Wrath revisiting America?

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Advocates for the poor and leading Democratic presidential candidates keep stating that something must be done about the growing numbers of poor people in the USA.
In my mind, I envision scenes from The Grapes of Wrath being experienced all over America, based on their rhetoric.
As much as the media in the USA loves to sensationalize every little event that comes along, I don't understand why reports and pictures of these hoards of homeless families, with their belongings tied to the family wagon, haven't appear on the nightly news as yet. The news networks had a field day for weeks on end over the plight of the homeless victims of Katrina. Where is the coverage of the hoards of the poor, homeless people, whose suffering we are being led to believe a Democratic vote will relieve? Or, has the standard of living improved in the USA to the point that the term "poor" now relates to an entirely different class of people?