3049 The Truth About Welfare: Past, Present and Future

In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared an “unconditional war on poverty in America” - not simply to “relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it.” How has that worked out? Today there are over 126 Federal antipoverty programs and in constant dollars, Federal spending has risen from $107 billion to $688 billion – or 640%. Total government spending has ballooned to $21,000 for every person below the poverty level in America, or $63,339 for a family of three. Since the war on poverty began, $19 trillion dollars have been spent ending poverty, but the poverty rate has increased. What is the Truth About Welfare?