War on Poverty: Worth it or not?

[JC Callender]

Has the War on Poverty been worth it?

"Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it" - LBJ

 

[Riveroaks]

Has the War on Poverty been worth it?

"Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it" - LBJ

You need to give medical care, food, and shelter to the poor.

If you can give them opportunity and employment that is even better.

 

[Critter7r]

"War on ___________ " doesn't work.

See also :

War on Drugs
War on Terrorism

Granted, these are things that are simply a part of the human condition. But calling it a "war" on whatever, seems to imply that the war might be over someday, when in reality, some people will always use drugs, some people will always be poor, and some people will always use religion as a reason to persecute, so these "wars" will never end.

And that would be ok, except that they were coined as "wars", and people expected that one day the war would be won.

 

[Chomsky]

Has the War on Poverty been worth it?

"Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it" - LBJ

Absolutely it's worth it.

But not the way it's being carried-out now with means-tested systems.

 

[JC Callender]

Absolutely it's worth it.

But not the way it's being carried-out now with means-tested systems.

Great, how's it worth it?

 

[PIPEWRENCH]

Has the War on Poverty been worth it?

The war is doing great. The number of poor people is growing every day.

"Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it" - LBJ

Oh you want to eliminate poverty. Well you can start by not undermining a livable wage with slave labor from other countries.

 

[joG]

Has the War on Poverty been worth it?

"Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it" - LBJ

The strategy seems to be turning out to have been wrong.

 

[joG]

You need to give medical care, food, and shelter to the poor.

If you can give them opportunity and employment that is even better.

The first is wrong-think while the later is robbing her of the feeling of having done it her way.

 

[Groogrux]

A war on poverty is definitely worth it. Our war on poverty is not. We're putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound.

 

[Riveroaks]

The first is wrong-think while the later is robbing her of the feeling of having done it her way.

Ok JOG then why don't you just choose to live in the jungle alone where the law of the jungle prevails?

Why even bother with civilization ??

Please answer.

Let the syllogisms begin.

 

[David_N]

While the war on poverty actually has been doing good things, we need to re-evaluate how it is being done.

 

[Groogrux]

While the war on poverty actually has been doing good things, we need to re-evaluate how it is being done.

Such as?

 

[David_N]

Such as?

The War on Poverty's surprising success | MSNBC

 

[Groogrux]

The War on Poverty's surprising success | MSNBC

All that fluctuation shows that poverty is a residual effect of some larger systemic problems; lack of opportunity and lack of birth control. There's no reason we can't get the poverty to a steady 10%.

 

[_Sal]

Has the War on Poverty been worth it?

"Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it" - LBJ

worth it yes, but like any war its success depends upon correct strategy and we never seem to agree upon the best way to do anything and in the mean time the poor suffer

we are not born equal, there will always be people that need help or even total support

 

[David_N]

All that fluctuation shows that poverty is a residual effect of some larger systemic problems; lack of opportunity and lack of birth control. There's no reason we can't get the poverty to a steady 10%.

Agreed. A focus on free birth control and bringing opportunities to low income individuals will certainly help.

 

[ocean515]

Has the War on Poverty been worth it?

"Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it" - LBJ

NO. Sentiment and desire are not a replacement for sound and rational policy. Consider the astounding amount of money originally spent on public housing, only to see it turned into rubble in multiple cities across North America.

Removing one's dignity by assuming they are incapable of personal progress has been an insult, and nothing much more than a way for those "haves" who create such programs to feel they are doing something positive.

Guilt should inspire more a more humanitarian response.

 

[jimbo]

Has the War on Poverty been worth it?

"Our aim is not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it" - LBJ

Obviously not. We've poured trillions since Johnson into the War on Poverty, and the liberals claim that the poverty problem is now worse.

 

[JC Callender]

NO. Sentiment and desire are not a replacement for sound and rational policy. Consider the astounding amount of money originally spent on public housing, only to see it turned into rubble in multiple cities across North America.

Removing one's dignity by assuming they are incapable of personal progress has been an insult, and nothing much more than a way for those "haves" who create such programs to feel they are doing something positive.

Guilt should inspire more a more humanitarian response.

:agree It reminds me of a Jim Brown quote: "A liberal is arrogant enough to think he can do you a half-assed favor. He is superior enough to think he can give you something that you don't deserve. A liberal will cut off your leg so he can hand you a crutch."

 

[JC Callender]

"Model Cities initiative created a new program at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) intended to improve coordination of existing urban programs. Several still troubled cities including Detroit, Oakland, Newark and Camden received funding." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_Cities_Program

Hmm, I wonder how those cities are doing now?

 

[_Sal]

NO. Sentiment and desire are not a replacement for sound and rational policy. Consider the astounding amount of money originally spent on public housing, only to see it turned into rubble in multiple cities across North America.

Removing one's dignity by assuming they are incapable of personal progress has been an insult, and nothing much more than a way for those "haves" who create such programs to feel they are doing something positive.

Guilt should inspire more a more humanitarian response.

I'm all ears...what would that be?

 

[HowardBThiname]

"War on ___________ " doesn't work.

See also :

War on Drugs
War on Terrorism

Granted, these are things that are simply a part of the human condition. But calling it a "war" on whatever, seems to imply that the war might be over someday, when in reality, some people will always use drugs, some people will always be poor, and some people will always use religion as a reason to persecute, so these "wars" will never end.

And that would be ok, except that they were coined as "wars", and people expected that one day the war would be won.

So true. Like Prohibition, these "wars" always create undesirable side effects.

 

[Henrin]

Agreed. A focus on free birth control and bringing opportunities to low income individuals will certainly help.

Taxpayer paid for birth control.

Stop calling **** free because the government does it and the end user pays nothing.

It's ****ing annoying, wrong and comes of as retarded propaganda.

 

[Henrin]

Oh you want to eliminate poverty. Well you can start by not undermining a livable wage with slave labor from other countries.

:roll: What slave labor? What companies make use of slaves from other countries? Please list them and then tell me what percentage of the total economy they represent.

 

[ocean515]

I'm all ears...what would that be?

Reward for effort is the most basic first step. I'm not referring to the effort to register with a social worker who decides how people get to live. I'm talking about reward in terms of increased assistance for those who take a job, and learn a skill.

For example, if someone gets a job, even minimum wage, they get a partial "bonus" for doing so. The longer they hold the job, the greater the assistance. As they improve their skills and increase their value, such assistance increases as well. This would incentivize people and inspire them to make the effort. Such incentives would also pave the way to get out of the neighborhoods they are stuck in.

That is off the top of my head. Policy that focuses on building dignity and self reliance recognizes the inherent worth of an person, as opposed to policy that assumes they have little to none.