THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 51, February 24, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
DEMOCRATS DEMAGOGUE POVERTY AGAIN
By Alan Caruba
THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, DEMOCRATIC DEMAGOGUERY, POVERTY, & THE AMERICAN ECONOMY: WHAT
REALLY NEEDS TO BE DONE TO ALLEVIATE THE PROBLEM OF POVERTY IN THE U.S.A. -- ADOPTION & IMPLEMENTATION
OF MEASURES TO ENCOURAGE THE CREATION OF NEW JOBS -- REDUCTION OF GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS THAT
STRANGLE ECONOMIC GROWTH -- REFORM OF OUR POORLY PERFORMING EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM -- WHY THE DEMOCRATS
WILL LOSE THEIR SOCALLED "WAR ON POVERTY"
FULL STORY:
The Democrats are at it again. Both Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barak Obama have made “poverty” a central theme
of their campaigns, promising to lift up the poor and put a chicken in every pot, a large screen TV on every wall, and a new
car in every driveway.
Predictably, the government, i.e., the taxpayers, will be expected to underwrite a raft a new programs to alleviate the
problems of the poor. Those of us old enough to remember President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “War on Poverty” also recall
that there were poor then and there are poor now.
On March 16, 1964, LBJ launched his War on Poverty with his Economic Opportunity Act, saying that “It strikes at the
causes, not just the consequences, of poverty,” but we all know the causes.
Some poor people, born into poverty because their parents are poor, often exacerbate the problem by dropping out of
school, insuring that they lack an adequate education to secure jobs that pay well for real knowledge and skills. Others
use drugs to escape the pain of poverty and often become part of the revolving door of the prison system. Some women
become pregnant early in life without a husband and incur poverty as a result. Some are just lazy and think work is for
suckers.
A 2004 article in the Christian Science Monitor noting the 40th anniversary of the War on Poverty stated that, as
LBJ was announcing his plans, the poverty rate in America was actually in decline, from 22.4 percent to about 19 percent.
The rate would fall to about 11 percent by 1973.
By the 1990s, public opinion about what should be done to reduce poverty and its cost to the nation had changed.
Republicans advocated welfare reform, passed in 1996, and recipients were expected to get a job. The welfare rolls have
since declined in most, if not all, states.
Johnson’s War on Poverty predictably expanded the federal bureaucracy, creating a job corps, a work-training program,
and a work-study program. LBJ championed Medicare and Medicaid, which later were enacted into law. Both, like Social
Security, are tottering on bankruptcy in the near future and, of course, Congress has its head in the sand hoping the
problem will go away.
The Democrats have always been seen as the party that has the greatest concern for the poor, while Republicans have
been portrayed as largely indifferent as well as home to the nation’s richest citizens. Considering how closely the divide
is in terms of voters, it would seem that both major parties have an equal number of rich and poor. There are lots of
millionaires in the Democratic Party, and some like Bill Gates, the quintessential example of a self-made billionaire, are
forever bleating about the poor. He is free to give away as much of his wealth as he wants, but many of the middle class
are finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.
A Washington Post article in August, 2007, noted that, “The nation’s poverty rate declined last year for the first
time this decade, but the number of Americans without health insurance rose to a record 47 million, according to annual
census figures released yesterday.”
It should be noted that the decline in General Motor’s fortunes are closely tied to the health insurance demands of its
unions. Across America, businesses sought to divest themselves of their employer-sponsored insurance coverage, thus
accounting for the rise in the uninsured. Health insurance and poverty should be treated as separate issues.
In general, about 12 percent of the nation’s population has always been ranked as below the poverty line established to
determine what it costs to live in America. This figure rises and falls with the cycles of employment and is affected often
by events well beyond the control of the government. Globalization continues to have an impact.
The government, of course, plays a role when it raises the minimum wage requirements for businesses, small and large.
The utter indifference to the annual flow of a million illegal immigrants taking jobs that would otherwise be available to
low income Americans is yet another factor for any rise in poverty.
The rich whom U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seems to resent pay the vast majority of the taxes the government
collects. “The rich have gotten richer, but every other income group under the Bush administration has lost ground,”
laments Speaker Pelosi, ignoring the fact that she and her husband are very much among those rich Americans, as are all
the members of Congress. This ignores the fact that America is all about getting rich.
Indeed, the failure of Sen. John Edwards’ candidacy, based on his “Two Americas” theme, pitting the rich, i.e. the middle
class, against the poor, is a good indicator that most Americans understand the fundamentals of what causes poverty
and what alleviates it.
Now the nation’s economy is suffering from the failure of the government to exercise oversight over the mortgage
lending industry and Wall Street’s inventive schemes to bundle subprime mortgage vulnerability into new ways to make
money. The failure to rein in the credit card industry will no doubt create a similar problem.
America has a portion of its population that is below the poverty line and someone should point out that America has
always had this problem. The failure to address the invasion of millions of illegal aliens has put hospitals into bankruptcy,
burdened school systems with millions more in property taxes to educate their children, and added millions to the cost of
crime, law enforcement, and incarceration.
LBJ’s War on Poverty barely made a dent in it. Current proposals of Democrats will also fail. Listening to Democratic
Party candidates for President bleat about the poor should raise a note of caution, because the Democrats clearly do not
want to address the real problems facing the nation. In his farewell message, Senator John Edwards said that both Hillary
Clinton and Barack Obama had pledged to make “ending poverty” central to their campaigns. It has never been done
because it cannot be done.
There will always be poor Americans. Among the answers to solve the problem will be measures to encourage the
creation of new jobs, reducing regulations that strangle growth, and reforming a poorly performing educational system.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
American Politics & Political Competition:
Elections, PACs, & Political Parties
American Government & the U.S. Presidency:
Presidential Politics & National Leadership
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
Political Economy -- Philosophies, Systems, & Public Policies:
Government, the Economy, & Economic Prosperity
Social Welfare Policy -- The Modern Welfare State
Alan Caruba is a veteran business and science writer, a Public Relations Counselor, and Founder of the National Anxiety Center, a
clearinghouse for information about media-driven scare campaigns. Caruba writes a weekly commentary, "Warning Signs," posted
on the Internet website of the National Anxiety Center, which is located at
www.anxietycenter.com.
Caruba has a daily blog at http://factsnotfantasy.blogspot.com.
Caruba’s new book, Right Answers: Separating Fact from Fantasy, has been published by Merril Press.
© Alan Caruba 2008
Published with Permission of Alan Caruba
ACaruba@AOL.Com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity