Johnson's War On Poverty

War on Poverty
Anthony Xxxxxxxxxx
Colorado Technical University

What exactly is poverty? Well it has been described differently over the years but the bottom line is that poverty is not having the sufficient financial means, and lacking the resources to take care of yourself or your family and live healthy. It does not mean living in squalor or filth it is simply not having the adequate means to feed and house yourself or your family. In 1959 the government began to officially record and report poverty levels, and at that time levels were recorded at 22% (University of Wisconsin, 2014). In January of 1964 President Johnson signed in the Economic Opportunity Act as one of his first attacks in his war on poverty.
Johnson needed to show…show more content…
One might say it is strange that since 1973 the poverty level has not risen over 15.2; while the same time it has never declined as it did in 1973 either. It is more than likely that the cause is really rather simple; there really has not been a want strong enough for our society to make a stand. Take a moment to think about the Contract with America the republicans had a great idea. They wanted to create the Personal Responsibility Act, in this reform they wanted to establish a tough two years in the program and then you’re our provision that had specific work requirements to encourage individual responsibility (Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, 2013). Basically you had two years to get a job or training and a job and then you should be able to take care of…show more content…
(2013). Republican Contract with America. Retrieved from http://www.gvpt.umd.edu/jgloekler/documents/contract.pdf University of Michigan. (2014). Poverty in the United States. Retrieved from http://www.npc.umich.edu/poverty/#6 University of Wisconsin. (2014). How is poverty measured in the United States?. Retrieved from http://www.irp.wisc.edu/faqs/faq2.htm ushistory.org. (2014). Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society". Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/us/56e.asp
WGBH Educational Foundation. (2013). State of the Union Address, 1964. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/primary-resources/lbj-union64 White, M. (2014). Why the U.S. lost the war on poverty Read more at http://national.deseretnews.com/article/865/Why-the-US-lost-the-war-on-poverty.html#cpkehx42xwCVsCJJ.99. Retrieved from