War On Poverty, 50 years later

Walsh, Kenneth T. “The War on Poverty: 50 years later.” U.S. News and World Report. U.S. News

            and World Report LP. 6 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Feb. 2016

 

Upon the 50^th anniversary of Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidential address to the Union, and his claim to “unconditional war on poverty,” Kenneth T. Walsh goes over what this war proclaimed and if it has failed or not. With a few examples on what the war on poverty is and the programs that pertain to it, Walsh proclaims that, “Overall, liberals and conservatives are still debating whether Johnson's War on Poverty was a success or a failure. Actually, it was both.” Walsh brings forward facts of the past and today, proving his point by stating that the War failed in that we still have poverty, yet we have won because poverty rates have receded from 19 percent and is in a range of 11 to 15 percent. In the end, the overall outcome was “the end of welfare as we know it,” as Bill Clinton ends it while he was in office in 1996.

I found this article very informative. It was interesting seeing the different methods he used to convey his message. Using quotes from many of the interviews that Lyndon B. Johnson had, as well as past and present records of the poverty rates, Walsh shows how the War on Poverty was a success and a failure. He uses fact, the past and present poverty rates, to show that while yes, the war on poverty didn’t succeed, it still did something—and that was keep the poverty rate from going over 19 percent. He even states that poverty bounces back between 11 percent and 15 percent. So while it wasn’t a success it still helped at some degree. Walsh compares Johnson’s presidency with Obama’s, commenting what Obama could have done differently to help win over Congress to help with his plans to help the poverty. I think he uses this comparing method to show that Obama could have been successful with adding on to the successes of the War on Poverty if he had been less “aloof and disengaged with Congress.”