Friday, January 10, 2014

Would you like to try being poor?


Shame on the Republicans in Congress who are "celebrating" the 50th anniversary of President Johnson's War on Poverty by claiming that it has failed.

I dare any one of them to "live poor" for a month.

I also dare all of them to do their duty, and start pushing legislation that will boost growth in our national economy and help to create jobs for millions of Americans who want to work.


Now, suddenly, there's a media frenzy of reporting on LBJ's kickoff of the War on Poverty 50 years ago, and, as in this WashingtonPost.com story, we're getting a lot of senseless, partisan malarkey about it.

F'rinstance, Rep. Steve Southerland (R-FL) is claiming that government intervention to fight poverty has failed, because we now have "more Americans in poverty than at any other point in our nation’s history."

Indeed. There are now almost 50 million Americans, including millions of kids, who live poor and disadvantaged. That's 1 out of 6 of our fellow Americans who live the way you and I wouldn't want to live. And imagine all the millions of folks whose income is $100 or $500 or $1,000 over the poverty line—we wouldn't choose to live like them either….

….and well, yes, that's about 10 million more people in the ranks of the poor since 1963, more than any time in our history. But, wait a minute! The United States population has increased about 125 million since 1963, and the percentage of folks living in poverty has DECREASED from 26% in 1967 to 16% in 2012. I'd say that's a positive track record so far for the War on Poverty.

Only about 50 million poor folks that still need some work….

And here's my free advice for the Republicans in Congress who push for cutting food stamps and ending unemployment compensation and other generally lumpen efforts to cut government aid for the poor:

Try living like a poor person for a month.
Then come back and talk.
  





2 comments:

  1. Do you really think that there are no poor Republicans and that you've got to have so much income or assets to vote for smaller gov't, no welfare, the protection of free speech and yes, that dreaded 2nd amendment. Do you really think that all the Dems. are brown baggers and have the truly poor at heart or are they trying to buy their power in office by vote with tax dollars paid by whom?? The problem that so many have is that they buy into the press and the bs that dems throw and think that they are serious.Pass immigration reform and there will never be a rep. elected again. 50 million (poor) bought and paid for voters....not bad. Lets all move to Detroit or Newark.

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  2. I read this comment by Anonymous twice. I was trying to notice a reference to compassion for kids going to bed hungry, and for grownups who have to live in awful places and can't afford to live anywhere else....

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