Poverty in the U.S. Was Plummeting—Until Lyndon Johnson Declared War On It

[Bigun]

Poverty in the U.S. Was Plummeting—Until Lyndon Johnson Declared War On It

Yet again, government intervention hurts those it is intended to help.

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Daniel J. Mitchell

One of the more elementary observations about economics is that a nation’s prosperity is determined in part by the quantity and quality of labor and capital. These “factors of production” are combined to generate national income.
I frequently grouse that punitive tax policies discourage capital. There’s less incentive to invest, after all, if the government imposes extra layers of tax on income that is saved and invested.

Bad tax laws also discourage labor. High marginal tax rates penalize people for being productive, and this can be especially counterproductive for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Still, we shouldn’t overlook how government discourages low-income people from being productively employed. But the problem is more on the spending side of the fiscal equation.

The Welfare State's Effect on the Poor

In Thursday's Wall Street Journal, John Early and Phil Gramm share some depressing numbers about growing dependency in the United States:

During the 20 years before the War on Poverty was funded, the portion of the nation living in poverty had dropped to 14.7% from 32.1%. Since 1966, the first year with a significant increase in antipoverty spending, the poverty rate reported by the Census Bureau has been virtually unchanged…Transfers targeted to low-income families increased in real dollars from an average of $3,070 per person in 1965 to $34,093 in 2016…Transfers now constitute 84.2% of the disposable income of the poorest quintile of American households and 57.8% of the disposable income of lower-middle-income households. These payments also make up 27.5% of America’s total disposable income...

https://fee.org/articles/poverty-in-the-us-was-plummeting-until-lyndon-johnson-declared-war-on-it/?fbclid=IwAR03SCnXKl9jNnmBzum1hS_I50OxEaGlwCfZPpzvL0ck2ATof5ZILqZ7LmI

[rustynail]

And Black Families were more intact than whites.

[Bigun]

And Black Families were more intact than whites.

Probably so!

[goatprairie]

In regard to the infamous quote by LBJ that in passing the 1964 civil rights bill he supposedly said "I'll have those n*ggers voting Dem for the next two hundred years."
Snopes checked it out but couldn't say if it was true or false.
They did admit LBJ had a long history of using the n word and addressing black people shabbily.
Robert MacMillan, a former Air Force steward, claims to have heard Johnson utter the quote. Snopes tried to throw a little shade at MacMillan but couldn't completely reject his testimony.
Others who were around Johnson many times knew about his flagrant use of the n word. For one thing they knew Johnson often referred to the civil rights bill in private as the "n*gger bill."
More than likely he uttered the quote. Liberals just don't like to accept it.

[Wingnut]

When it comes to any story negatively affecting race or liberal issues, snopes will spin it and white wash it.  They don't even try to be objective about it.

[Hoodat]

Yet again, government intervention hurts those it is intended to help.

It was never intended to help.  It was intended to enslave.

[libertybele]

It was never intended to help.  It was intended to enslave.

Yes, intended to enslave and ensure the DEM vote.

[LMAO]

Government programs encourage poverty. And breaking up the traditional family doesn’t help

[Bigun]

In regard to the infamous quote by LBJ that in passing the 1964 civil rights bill he supposedly said "I'll have those n*ggers voting Dem for the next two hundred years."
Snopes checked it out but couldn't say if it was true or false.
They did admit LBJ had a long history of using the n word and addressing black people shabbily.
Robert MacMillan, a former Air Force steward, claims to have heard Johnson utter the quote. Snopes tried to throw a little shade at MacMillan but couldn't completely reject his testimony.
Others who were around Johnson many times knew about his flagrant use of the n word. For one thing they knew Johnson often referred to the civil rights bill in private as the "n*gger bill."
More than likely he uttered the quote. Liberals just don't like to accept it.

@goatprairie

Just so you know, Snopes is a Soros funded husband and wife operation run out of an apartment in Los Angeles, California.  They ain't worth spit!

[austingirl]

It was never intended to help.  It was intended to enslave.

 

Welcome to the federal plantation.

[Bigun]

It was never intended to help.  It was intended to enslave.

I think he was speaking about the for public consumption purpose vs the real one.

[Bigun]

Error 404 (Not Found)!!1

[aligncare]

When it comes to any story negatively affecting race or liberal issues, snopes will spin it and white wash it.  They don't even try to be objective about it.

Snopes consists of two Leftist losers in their basement issuing “facts” to cover for democrat talking points.

[Applewood]

And Black Families were more intact than whites.

That may well be true.  And even the ones where the father was absent -- there was a strong mother, determined that their kids would have a better life.   Often there were other strong father figures around to help.  I know this because I grew up close to a housing project and many of the kids who lived there went to the same school as I did. 

One of my classmates was a guy named Art, who grew up in that housing project.  Art's father left when he and his siblings were kids.  His mother though was one tough cookie.  She raised Art and his siblings right.  Art could not hang with any unsavory types.  He and his siblings went to church every Sunday and were active in the church's charitable endeavors.  Education was paramount in that house.  Art ultimately received an MBA and is a successful businessman in Atlanta, married with children and grandchildren.  No gubmint handouts for this guy. 

Today's poor are being taught that they are entitled to any "free stuff" they can get and they don't want to work for it.  The parents, if they are around, have basically abdicated their responsibility for raising their kids and turned them over to the state.  And as we know, government can't do anything right, so how do we expect them to raise children?  If we want to fix poverty, we have to get the state out of it.  The strong family has to come back.  Parents have to take responsibility for their kids. 

[Wingnut]

Today's poor are being taught that they are entitled to any "free stuff" they can get and they don't want to work for it.  The parents, if they are around, have basically abdicated their responsibility for raising their kids and turned them over to the state.  And as we know, government can't do anything right, so how do we expect them to raise children?  If we want to fix poverty, we have to get the state out of it.  The strong family has to come back.  Parents have to take responsibility for their kids.

Well that is it in a nutshell.  it took 5 or so generations since LBJ program for the intercity/urban black culture to change for the worse.  Hard work and to better ones self and lot in life is frown upon. 

[Fishrrman]

Rusty wrote:
"And Black Families were more intact than whites."

Sounds nice, but no, they weren't.
https://www.brookings.edu/research/an-analysis-of-out-of-wedlock-births-in-the-united-states/

[Smokin Joe]

Well,  Duh! Subsidize something and you'll have more of it.

We have the fattest poor people on the planet.