Modern scholars of ancient Rome have found difficulty in defining who was considered to be living in poverty due to their lack of significant coverage in the historical record, and the difficulty in defining the lines between poverty and middle class. Roman writers describe the poorer parts of the population as unvirtuous and immoral masses who were threats to the nation and unconcerned with the values of the Roman world. Ancient Roman Christian depictions tend to depict the poor as more sympathetic and often call for the wealthy to help them. There were other efforts to help the poor, such as the Cura Annonae, a policy which redistributed grain. The Roman poor also had limited rights. They were unable to access political offices, had higher tax rates, and were unable to afford most status symbols.
