Johnson’s War on Poverty

Johnson’s Declaration of War Is it possible to eradicate poverty?

Essential Questions What role does education play in the cycle of poverty? How do we define poverty? Was Johnson’s war a success?

Johnson’s War – “A hand up, not a hand out”

Johnson felt the cycle of poverty could be broken. America’s poor, with a little help, could gain access to what Johnson called the “good life.” Access to Education, decent housing, medical care, lasting employment Civic participation, become community leaders Psychological disposition (happiness)

Johnson’s Multifaceted approach Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 created Office of Economic Opportunity, from which numerous programs originated Job Corps – Vocational training Neighborhood Youth Corps – Community involvement, hourly wages, reduced dropout rates Work Study – Employment for college students at universities/ in the community Head Start – Services disadvantaged preschool children, kindergarten prep VISTA

Johnson’s Multifaceted approach cont. Medicare Medicaid Improvements to Social Security Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Sweeping legislation for education Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 Equal access to education Federal funding to aid schools with large low SES populations Authorized for professional development, instructional materials, support for educational programs Evolved into today’s NCLB – from which 50% of US schools receive Title I funding Higher Education Act of 1965 More federal funding for universities Scholarships Low interest loans

Fifty Years Later So, was Johnson’s war on poverty a success? Opponents of Johnson’s war point to marginal decreases in poverty since 1965 (down to 15% from 19% despite trillions of dollars spent). Claim Johnson’s programs made people dependent on the government. Funding drained by the Vietnam War sharply decreased the effectiveness of many programs. OEO Dismantled by Nixon However these estimates don’t take government intervention into account Johnson’s war has lifted millions of Americans out of poverty through programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and expanded Social Security benefits. Many of these people are stuck in a cycle of poverty. Many of Johnson’s programs are also at work today: Head Start, VISTA, Job Corps

References Mazzuca, Samantha. (2010). The Legacy of Johnson’s War on Poverty. The Libertarian papers, 20(2), 1-14 Mazzuca makes the argument that Johnson’s War on Poverty was unsuccessful. The author contends that Johnson’s programs created government dependency and without them people would be more apt to extricate themselves from poverty. The article also contains a fairly objective history that acknowledges the benefit of several of Johnson’s programs.

References Meyer, B. and Sullivan, J. (2012). Winning the War: Poverty from the Great Society to the Great Recession. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Fall 2012, This article suggests that traditional methods of measuring poverty by monetary income are unreliable. Such methods neglect to account for government intervention in the form of social security, tax benefits, medical care, food stamps, etc., which are responsible for lifting millions of Americans out of poverty. By measuring poverty in terms of consumption the benefits of many of Johnson’s programs are more evident.