Today, the U.S. Census Bureau will release its annual report on poverty. This report is noteworthy because this year marks the 50th anniversary of President Lyndon Johnson’s launch of the War on Poverty. Liberals claim that the War on Poverty has failed because we didn’t spend enough money. Their answer is just to spend more. But the facts show otherwise.
Since its beginning, U.S. taxpayers have spent $22 trillion on Johnson’s War on Poverty (in constant 2012 dollars). Adjusting for inflation, that’s three times more than was spent on all military wars since the American Revolution.
The federal government currently runs more than 80 means-tested welfare programs. These programs provide cash, food, housing and medical care to low-income Americans. Federal and state spending on these programs last year was $943 billion. (These figures do not include Social Security, Medicare, or Unemployment Insurance.)
Over 100 million people, about one third of the U.S. population, received aid from at least one welfare program at an average cost of $9,000 per recipient in 2013. If converted into cash, current means-tested spending is five times the amount needed to eliminate all poverty in the U.S.
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because the goal is not to get them out of poverty it is to make them dependant on the government
ReplyDeleteIf they had taken that money and allowed businesses to grow by reducing their tax and legislative burdens, some of these 'poor' wouldn't be!
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, everything the government touches decays to mold!
What we need is a war on pregnancy by people who can't support the outcome.
ReplyDeleteIf you can't take the responsibility for having kids, you shouldn't have them.
Running into trouble after having kids is one thing, but PURPOSEFULLY conceiving kids you know you can't support from the get-go is quite another.