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The Failed War on Poverty
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# : |
14045 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
Date : |
9 / 1995 |
2,417 Words |
| Author
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William F. Lauber
William F. Lauber is coauthor of America's Failed $5.4
Trillion War on Poverty (Washington, D.C.: Heritage
Foundation, 1995). He currently serves as a legislative
assistant to Rep. Christopher Cox (R-California), chairman of
the Republican Policy Committee. |
In his 1964 State of the Union address, President Lyndon Johnson optimistically announced an "unconditional" War on Poverty, proclaiming, "One thousand invested in salvaging an unemployable youth today can return $40,000 or more in his lifetime."
Filled with a sense of idealism and the belief that poverty could be eliminated if only America showed "compassion" by creating new poverty reduction programs, Congress enacted an unprecedented amount of legislation designed to alleviate the suffering of America's poor. Yet, despite the "investment" of $5.4 trillion in the poor over the last 30 years, America's poverty rate has barely moved. In fact, in many cases, the fate of the poor has worsened.
America's $5.4 trillion war
Since the beginning of the War on Poverty, American taxpayers have spent over $5.4 trillion on welfare in constant 1993 dollars. In 1993 alone, American taxpayers spent over $324 billion on 80 major interrelated and overlapping welfare programs.
Figures as high as $5.4 trillion and $324 billion are very difficult to comprehend. How can the average American fathom such numbers? One way to make them more tangible is to recognize that the $324 billion spent on welfare in 1993 amounts to an average of over $3,300 for each household that paid federal income tax!
The $5.4 trillion total cost of the War on Poverty is even more telling. With $5.4 trillion, one could purchase every factory, all the manufacturing equipment, and every office building in the
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