Ye have the poor with you always

From time to time, the Gallup poll has asked people "Do you think poverty will ever be done away with in this country?"*  The results:

1937    13  83  4

1964     9  83  7

1965    13  80  7

1967     7  89  4

1989     6  92  2

1998     8  91  1 

At all times, the overwhelming majority said no.  However, I'm pretty sure that the differences among the times are statistically significant.  It's hard to make definite statements about patterns given the small number of occasions on which the question was asked, but it's interesting that the three highest "yes" totals were the three earliest ones. 

*The 1965 survey said "in the United States" and specified within the next 20 years.