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Essay On The Poor In America

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Here we are, eighty years after the enacting of the new deal and fifty years after the war on the poverty, the poor still heavily dull among us. In January 1964, Lyndon Johnson, thirty-sixth President of the United States declared an "unconditional war on poverty in America.” Johnson declared a war on poverty and racial discrimination, to create a thoughtful society for all Americans to live within. Unfortunately, with the numerous deals and welfare programs we have issues as a nation deciding how to fight poverty, where to invest the donations, and who deserves to be considered poor.
The term poor is vividly defined in this country which makes it an issue, because how can we address a problem that we can not define. The word poor is defined by the Webster dictionary as a person “lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society,” and in America we sometimes give welfare to those who are living a sustainable life but want more. According to government surveys, “the typical family that Census identifies as poor has air conditioning, cable or satellite TV, and a computer in his home. Forty percent have a wide screen HDTV and another 40 percent have internet access. Three quarters of the poor own a car and roughly a third have two or more …show more content…

Like Louis Woodhill contributing writer to Forbes summaries the consequences of welfare programs, “It was supposed to help America’s poor become self-sufficient, and it has made them dependent and dysfunctional.” The country shouldn 't be giving charity to its people, because then charity does not help them on the long run, but jobs skills and education will give them jobs that will benefit them and save them the embarrassment of asking

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