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War on Poverty: From the Great Society to the Great Recession
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When Lyndon B. Johnson became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, he put the power of his presidency behind a remarkable series of reform initiatives. The legislation was geared toward boosting economic opportunity, a theme captured by his administration's catchphrase, the Great Society. "This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America," he said during his 1964 State of the Union address. But the political drive to eradicate poverty soon faltered on a number of fronts, undone by doubts about the effectiveness of anti-poverty programs and the escalating costs of the Vietnam War. Many initiatives launched more than four decades ago are still in place today. Yet from the heady optimism of the Great Society to the trauma of the Great Recession questions remain about what government should do to help people who are poor. And poverty remains an abiding problem in America. Nearly 40 million Americans or 13.2 percent of the population live in poverty. The poverty rate for children is even higher. And most experts expect poverty rates will go up due to the economic trauma of the Great Recession.
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