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President L. B. Johnson And The War On Poverty

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What is the "War on Poverty"? “President Lyndon Johnson declared "unconditional war" on poverty. The term "war on poverty" generally refers to a set of initiatives proposed by Johnson's administration, passed by Congress, and implemented by his Cabinet agencies. President Johnson addressed his efforts, "Our aim is not only to relieve the symptoms of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it."” The war on poverty was initiated to help people in need off financial, housing, educational, and occupational support in order to help citizens. The program was used to place programs throughout the U.S based on demand system. Programs implemented by President L.B. Johnson are “the Social Security Amendments of 1965, the Food Stamp Act of …show more content…

The Food Stamp Act provides people on certain types of government aid to receive food stamps to purchase food. The Economic Opportunity Act “established the Job Corps, the VISTA program, the federal work-study program and a number of other initiatives. It also established the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), the arm of the White House responsible for implementing the war on poverty and which created the Head Start program in the process.” The Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides free education for children in the public school system. This Act dispensed “subsidizing school districts with a large share of impoverished students, among other provisions.” They instilled another Act called “the No Child …show more content…

“Since Lyndon Johnson's launching of the War on Poverty in 1964, America has spent $22 trillion in taxpayer dollars on programs aimed at reducing poverty.” (Have We Won the War on Poverty?, 2014) “We won in the sense that programs for the poor have dramatically reduced hardship and kept millions from destitution.” (Samuelson, 2014) The decrease of the poverty line is attributed to supply of government programs throughout the U.S. These programs help both students and adults gain the financial support in which they are unable to support themselves. The U.S have won in regards to providing these programs. Many programs have been implemented based off of the programs created by President L.B. Johnson. Factors that present a positive outcome of the War on Poverty includes, “The percent of the population in poverty when measured to include tax credits and other benefits has declined from 25.8 percent in 1967 to 16.0 percent in 2012.” With the aid of government assistance, people are more likely to rise above the poverty line which aids the growth of the economic structure. “Social Security has played a crucial role in lowering poverty among the elderly. Poverty among those aged 65 and older was 35 percent in 1960. Following rapid expansions in Social Security in the 1960s and 1970s, poverty among the elderly fell to 14.8 percent in 2012.” When people retire they often do not

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740 Words | 3 Pages

Johnson had been voted into office, right off the bat he wanted to stop the assault of poverty, though as previously in my last paragraph the Economy was fairly good, but there was still a shocking amount of poverty in the United States. President Johnson ran his campaign on the idea of a war against poverty and when he got into office the OEO , also known as the Office of Economic Opportunity, “created an array of new educational, employment, housing, and health-care programs”(Brinkley 699) This was done to help offer opportunities to those who were living below the poverty line, and even though it was helpful for a while the effects were impossible to sustain. In the attempts to end poverty the OEO spent three billion dollars. The program then came to a halt because the United States entrance into a war in Southeast Asia and that became a first priority(Brinkley 699).

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These programs solved unemployment, which also resolved the issue about people not having money to support their families. Getting money to support their families allowed them to have a house and supply food for them. If the person doesn’t need all the money they could send some to family members that are

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During 1959, the year before the Amendment of 1960, the Bureau of Census indicated a 35.2% of poverty with those 65+ and 17% with those from the ages of 18-64. Roughly seven years later, in 1966, when Medicare was passed and provided for a year, it was shown that 28.5% of the elderly population lived in poverty whilst 10.5% of people from 18-64 lived in poverty (Excel Files tbl 3). From the seven years prior to Medicare being passed to the actual passing of the program, the rate of poverty in the elderly decreased 6.7%. Sometimes, it is difficult to gauge the progress and effectiveness of a program when looking at the course of a few years, however, one can witness trends over a couple decades. In the fifty years since Medicare has been passed, the rate of poverty in geriatrics has steadily decreased as the rate of poverty in those from 18-64 steadily increases.

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Out of the many problems we have in the world today, one main problems is poverty. Poverty has been around for thousands of years now, and people began to fight it as early as the 1960s. When Lyndon B. Johnson became president, he took it upon himself to fight poverty by creating the Great Society Plan. In the plan, many new programs and jobs were created to assist Americans living in poverty and to help improve their lifestyles. President Johnson’s Great Society Plan improved many poversed Americans lives by helping them obtain an education, find a job to provide for their families, and helping them with medical funds.

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Medicare would provide health insurance for those 65 and older while Medicaid would offer a plan for America’s poor. The insurance plans aided 47 million people by 1975. It also accounted for twenty-five percent of the country’s health care expenses. In addition to Medicare, the Food Stamp Act passed during Johnson’s presidency would provide subsidies to the poor in order to feed their families. These two acts certainly improved the quality of life for many Americans who otherwise would have been

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The Food Stamp Act of 1964: The Food Stamp ac was part of President Lyndon Johnsons Great society Program. This program was designed to make sure that no American would go hungry. It was designed to raise nutrition levels in low income communities. In particular congress designed the act to strengthen the agriculture economy to make sure that the abundance of food that was being produced would be used and not go to waste. I think that this act is important in today’s society because there are still thousands of people who are going hungry every day and are in need of assistance.

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LBJ also pushed for an antipoverty program by declaring an “’unconditional war on poverty in America’” in his

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This EOA contained a number of agencies and programs that were designed to help people in poverty. Head Start (early pre-school), Work-training programs, Job Corps,

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He enacted the “war on poverty”. This symbolic war similar to that of President Bush’s “war on terrorism” started programs like Medicaid, Medicare, food stamps, Head Start, Job Corps, VISTA, and Title I. These programs help Americans live comfortably in life. Many Americans rely on these programs to get by or survive.

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The Job Corps is an organization that is focused on education and training young people for future success. While the previous two organizations are focused on educating people below the poverty line, the Legal Services Corporation is focused on giving all Americans access to justice. The organizations made through Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Economic Opportunity Act are still helping those beneath the poverty line live a better life and even allowing some to escape poverty all together. When Lyndon Johnson was president and was fighting for a Great Society, “ Millions of Americans raised themselves above the “poverty line,” and the percentage under it declined from 20 to 12 percent between 1964 and 1974” (Miller center of Public Affairs 2). Lyndon Johnson’s influence was felt even after his death in 1973 and because of his actions many organizations he helped create are still changing the world today.

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*When first signed into action over 50 years ago by President Lyndon B. Johnson the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the one of the first steps the Unites States took to help with poverty in the country. Both acts were part of the War on Poverty that was created to improve the education, skills, health, and resources of those families and Individuals with low-incomes. The United States government believed that by providing individuals with resources “they would expand their productivity and ability to makes ends and enhance their economic outcomes”. (Chaudry,2016) When these acts several items were introduced to the individuals to help thru while they were found to at poverty level such as food stamps.

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In 1964 Johnson had officially declared “war on poverty” (Lyndon). His speech was effective in getting better

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The economic downturn that befell American citizens during the 1960s impacted several households and impoverished multiple areas. With a staggering 19% poverty rate, poverty in the United States has become an alarming issue. In order to fight this battle of poverty and deplete the population, President Lyndon B. Johnson established a system of initiatives. Within these programs, the intent of reestablishing economic stability across the nation was presentable through the Head Start program, the Food Stamp Act of 1964, and the establishment of Medicare and Medicaid. Still, the question remains: how successful was this program known as the War on Poverty?

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Lyndon B. Johnson declared the war on poverty during a Union address in January 8th, 1964. This was in response to national poverty rates being around 19 percent at the time of his speech. Lyndon B. Johnson’s success in lowering poverty rates during the “war on poverty,” was due to legislations such as VISTA, Job Corps, Head Start, Medicaid, Medicare, and HUD. One major Legislation is VISTA.

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