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Friday, November 13, 2009

How goes the government’s war on poverty?

One problem with getting older is that I remember much of the past, such as the many great political solutions enacted to deal with our many great social problems. I do some reading every now and again to see how those grand ideas turned out. The war on poverty looks like it has not drifted too far from the skirmish line. Since President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty in 1964, there does not seem to be hard evidence to give me optimism or pessimism, only cynicism. This is not a partisan slap. Both Republicans and Democrats have had 45-years to show meaningful results from their efforts, paid for with our tax dollars. Click here for an AP story stating that one-half of all American children will be on food stamps sometime during their childhood. To me, that number is profound. Should I be proud to live in a country great enough to provide this safety net? I suppose I should be. Should I be wondering if such programs perpetuate a class of unmotivated people with a sense of entitlement? It may be uncharitable for me to do so, but I do wonder.
By at

1 comment:

  1. DanNovember 13, 2009 at 5:35 PM

    Jaded as it sounds, mundanely typical of governmental bodies. I agree, it is grand to live in a land where people are not allowed to fail. Unfortunately, creatures seem to like to do as little as possible for their own sustenance.

    As I said, jaded. ;)

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