To listen to the politicians, you would think there are three kinds of Americans.

There are the wealthy, who either “should pay their fair share” according to the Democrats, or are “the engine of job creation” according to the Republicans.

Then there is the middle class, which President Obama says is his only priority, and Republicans also want to help.

Finally, there are those struggling to get into the middle class who also get priority attention, though some Republicans claim they have been paid off by the Democrats.

The capitalists say that Democrats are socialists, and the Democrats try to show that, while they see a role for government, they, too, are capitalists.

In this new political correctness, one group has almost disappeared: The poor.

Politicians seem uncomfortable showing that they have any concern for the poor. While the poor would all most likely want to get into the middle class, some aren’t able to progress.

The ranks of the poor have been growing because of the recession, as some people drop out of the middle class. But others were poor even in better times.

Jesus even said, “The poor you will always have with you ”¦”

People are poor for any of a number of possible reasons. They lack education to prepare them for a job. They are disabled, physically or mentally. They are too old to rejoin the labor market and dependent on fixed incomes that can no longer cover living expenses.

Consider the single mother with small children who cannot afford child care, so she cannot get the education she needs to qualify for a job.

Or the elderly woman with a quadriplegic son who must care for him, both living only on his disability income.

Or the 50-year-old man who lost his job in manufacturing and lacks the education required by the growing service economy.

Maybe we don’t need to be concerned about them. The conservative Heritage Foundation finds “the living conditions of the poor have steadily improved.” Many have air conditioning or television sets, it reports.

The implication is that, because many poor people have access to appliances, they are not really poor and certainly don’t need public assistance. Presumably, if they suffered more they would be more worthy.

It might be argued that if they suffered less, they might have a better chance of getting out of poverty.

But the argument goes that they are “takers” from government, and we “givers” should let the poor sink or swim. If left on their own, they will be forced to find work and survive. They can become members of the middle class without any help.

For example, that approach cuts back on government spending for the Head Start program, a successful effort to get kids when they are still quite young into good learning habits and acquainted with useful social skills.

Head Start funds should go instead to tax reductions, and then wealthier people will invest in businesses that will grow and offer jobs to young people in poverty.

That’s the theory. Unfortunately, with the existing, reduced tax rates, there’s no evidence that happens.

Perhaps if the Heritage Foundation dug a bit deeper, it would have found that much of the assistance that goes to the poor comes from their neighbors, not government.

When I was a selectman, I saw that aid provided by the town was easily doubled by voluntary action in the community, by churches and individuals. They required no written applications and acted quickly to help.

Such voluntary action is good, and like the firewood you split, it warms twice: The donor once and the recipient once.

Helping our neighbors is part of the American tradition, but we go too far if we believe that government has no responsibility to help the poor.

After all, government is the prime tool for action on behalf of the national community. We don’t want to promote dependency, but we need to recognize that inevitably some people are dependent, and such people will always be part of society.

In the heated budget talks in Washington, besides helping the middle class, the two parties should repair the “safety net” for the poor that now has more holes than net. If the politicians negotiate comprehensive budget reform this year or next, somebody should remember the now overlooked poor.

But at this holiday season, during Thanksgiving week, we should not forget that winter imposes more costs on the poor and that now is the best time for us to extend our own helping hand.

Here’s the rest of what Jesus said about the poor always being with us: “”¦ and you can help them any time you want.”

Happy Thanksgiving.

— Gordon L. Weil is an author, publisher, consultant, and former official of international organizations and the U.S. and Maine governments.