On January 8, 1964, during his State of the Union Address, President Lyndon B. Johnson said, “Our aim is not only to relieve the symptoms of poverty, but to cure it, above all, to prevent it.”
This statement was the goal of an effort LBJ dubbed the “War on Poverty,” a war we still continue to battle 51 years later. There were four main pieces of legislation designed to fight the War on Poverty. There was the Social Security Amendments of 1965 (mainly Medicare and Medicaid), the Food Stamps Act of 1964, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, now known as “No Child Left Behind.”
The intentions of the Johnson administration were optimistic and genuine, with the design of being a safety net for those in need. They designed each piece of legislation with the hope that they would be used to help America’s poor become self-sufficient and rise above poverty.
Since the War on Poverty began in 1964, the anti-poverty or welfare spending has exploded. We spend considerably more each and every year in federal and state money to fund more than 80 means-tested welfare programs to provide food, housing, healthcare and social programs to low-income Americans.
According to Heritage.org, in 2013, nearly one in three Americans were receiving benefits from at least one government funded welfare program, totaling more than $943 billion in federal and state spending. That number doesn’t include spending on Medicare or Medicaid benefits. So I ask you this, how is it possible that we can spend that kind of money on these programs and see no considerable impact on poverty levels? We are all compassionate and want to serve others, but are we helping or hurting?
Studies have shown more than 50% of welfare recipients enjoy cable or satellite TV, a flat screen HDTV and a video game console. For many middle class families, these items are all considered luxury items. A good question is why people living on government benefits can afford these items, but not all hard working, middle class families can?
We can be grateful that living standards for all Americans, including the poor, have increased over the years, and that children living in these low-income households have food on the table and a roof over their heads. However, the War on Poverty, according to President Johnson’s original goal, has not been successful. We continue to spend more money on government funded assistance programs and see very little impact in poverty levels. The latest report from the government estimates more than 23 percent of Americans lived in a family that received some form of welfare help in the last 6 years, up 17.1%. It is time that we review the welfare qualification standards and start applying more strict guidelines for recipients to follow and goals to achieve self-sustainability. Most of us agree with providing a safety net to those in need, but long-term entitlement has proven not to help our fellow citizens.
to your business!