Does anyone remember Johnson's "War on Poverty"?

[twin1954]

I seem to remember Lyndon Johnson declaring war on poverty. I was just wondering how that war is going all these years later.

 

[stamperben]

Thankfully that war was declared, otherwise who could imagine how much worse the desperation might be like in the nation.

 

[twin1954]

Thankfully that war was declared, otherwise who could imagine how much worse the desperation might be like in the nation.

You would think that after all these years of throwing money at the poor in the name of fighting poverty we would have at least made a dent in it. But alas we haven't.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...ears-into-the-war-on-poverty-a-data-portrait/

 

[stamperben]

You would think that after all these years of throwing money at the poor in the name of fighting poverty we would have at least made a dent in it. But alas we haven't.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...ears-into-the-war-on-poverty-a-data-portrait/

And you know that it wouldn't be worse today how?

 

[Belk]

You would think that after all these years of throwing money at the poor in the name of fighting poverty we would have at least made a dent in it. But alas we haven't.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tan...ears-into-the-war-on-poverty-a-data-portrait/

So your initial question was actually disingenuous?

 

[twin1954]

And you know that it wouldn't be worse today how?

I never said that it wouldn't be worse today. You are putting words in my mouth. What I am saying is that after all these years it has made little to no difference.

 

[stamperben]

I never said that it wouldn't be worse today. You are putting words in my mouth. What I am saying is that after all these years it has made little to no difference.

There's an actual difference between a negative 1 and a negative 10.

Think about it...

 

[twin1954]

So your initial question was actually disingenuous?

I am sure that you could take it as being disingenuous but I asked the question in order to set up discussion and because when I originally asked the question I had not looked up any specifics of how it was going.

 

[twin1954]

There's an actual difference between a negative 1 and a negative 10.

Think about it...

The problem here is that you are assuming that it would be worse if the war on poverty had not been declared. That is an un-provable assumption. We don't really know what would have happened if it hadn't been declared. But it was and the result is that it has made no real difference.

 

[variant]

The problem here is that you are assuming that it would be worse if the war on poverty had not been declared. That is an un-provable assumption. We don't really know what would have happened if it hadn't been declared. But it was and the result is that it has made no real difference.

How do you know that?

There is a correlation between social welfare spending and the reduction of poverty:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare's_effect_on_poverty

 

[twin1954]

How do you know that?

There is a correlation between social welfare spending and the reduction of poverty:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare's_effect_on_poverty

Not in this country. See the link in post #3.

 

[ChristsSoldier115]

All poor people just need to quit being lazy. If they were all hard workers they also could be billionaires like my good friend Trump.

 

[stamperben]

All poor people just need to quit being lazy. If they were all hard workers they also could be billionaires like my good friend Trump.

Goes to show I didn't work hard enough to get a huge inheritance. Guess Pop didn't either. Man I sure hope my kids can!

 

[ChristsSoldier115]

Goes to show I didn't work hard enough to get a huge inheritance. Guess Pop didn't either. Man I sure hope my kids can!

Unlike my other conservative buddies I believe everybody needs to work hard for their own. So I lose much respect to parents who buy their children their first car, or pay for their college. The child should be doing that with their own hard work. I don't have much respect for people who are given things just for breathing the air. That includes inheritance.

 

[twin1954]

All poor people just need to quit being lazy. If they were all hard workers they also could be billionaires like my good friend Trump.

True there are some lazy ones but that is not really the cause of poverty in my opinion. It is that they have never known or been taught how to manage money. An example would be that those poor who win the lottery are poor again within 5 years. That is because they didn't change the way they handle money when they had it. The same lifestyle and practice that made and kept them poor is what made them poor again.

But to your point, the first colonists tried the communal model and everyone shared in the bounty harvested. It didn't take long for some to realize that they didn't have to do anything in order to eat so they didn't contribute to the society. It didn't last long.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1285981/posts

 

[stamperben]

Hard to manage money when the income isn't enough to cover the basic bills.

 

[twin1954]

Hard to manage money when the income isn't enough to cover the basic bills.

Yet how many of them still buy their expensive cigarettes and booze and have smart phones?

 

[stamperben]

Yet how many of them still buy their expensive cigarettes and booze and have smart phones?

You tell me.

 

[ChristsSoldier115]

True there are some lazy ones but that is not really the cause of poverty in my opinion. It is that they have never known or been taught how to manage money. An example would be that those poor who win the lottery are poor again within 5 years. That is because they didn't change the way they handle money when they had it. The same lifestyle and practice that made and kept them poor is what made them poor again.

But to your point, the first colonists tried the communal model and everyone shared in the bounty harvested. It didn't take long for some to realize that they didn't have to do anything in order to eat so they didn't contribute to the society. It didn't last long.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1285981/posts

I know many hard workers who are poor. The "american dream" increases their poverty, and well as those who withhold opportunities from them to hoard it for themselves or for those they know. Everyone must have their own thing in america. that is the typical american ideal. This cultural hiccup has problems, because it creates discontent, which is a sin. Our own culture encourages sin, but nobody wants to admit it. Everyone wants the best, and everyone thinks they deserve it. This is a cross-class american cultural thing. The worldview isn't limited to just the poor. It cannot be changed overnight like anything that involves culture.

 

[dogs4thewin]

I do not believe it is working very well. It seems that there are a LOT of poor people.