Diatribune - slavery - Comments

I know that Johnson had some

kerry — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 20:46:41 -0600

I know that Johnson had some success with the War on Poverty but it was literally intended to wipe out poverty in this country and it never happened. I can't accurately say how much the war in Vietnam effected his domestic agenda, but Johnson was one of the most successful presidents in history at getting bills he supported through Congress. I think if you read Daniel Patrick Moynihan's "Maximum Feasible Misunderstanding" you will see bureaucratic problems that contributed to the failure as well. The problem I think with programslike Head Start is for all of the good they do and they do a lot of good, they are another band-aid approach to solving a much greater social problem. We keep putting band-aids like food stamps, housing subsidies, free lunch programs, minimum wage, etc on the problem and we still have people in the wealthiest country in the world who live in great poverty. There is something really wrong with the fact that we have corporate CEO's making 400 times what the average worker makes now and people like Bill Gates and the Waltons are wealthy beyond comprehension while some people in South Texas live in dirt floor shacks.We need to start a real honest dialog about the distribution of wealth in this country if we want to end poverty in America instead of coming up with new band-aids.

Some refer to holy

Kidspeak — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:37:49 -0600

Some refer to holy writ:

"the poor you have always with you"
"blessed are the poor"

Of course, the same holy writ also makes caustic comments about wealthier folks who simply told poor persons to "be warmed and filled" but did nothing to help the poor. . .

And then, of course, there is the interpretation of Calvin's institutes with wealth being seen as a sign of God's favor (not sure Calvin would like that).

And beyond Calvin, the idea of Social Darwinism is a popular one, even among people who are disdainful of Darwin's actual ideas on evolution: Wealth is a sign of greater "fitness", that you are better, more apt, more skillful, a better level of humanity if you are wealthy.

I keep thinking of the terrible things written on newborn babies' records not so long ago: "piss poor protoplasm".

The physician writers weren't talking about health.

I disagree. Johnson's War on

Kidspeak — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:30:25 -0600

I disagree. Johnson's War on Poverty was a great success in some respects: Head Start for one (despite many right wing attempts to discount its success).

However the central problem of the War on Poverty was the War in Vietnam. Like our current war in Iraq, it absorbed money - and more important to that day, it absorbed young adults. Thus any attempts at a large national improvement effort, or national discussion about poverty were distinctly back-burnered until Vietnam was settled.

Well, we were still fighting about Vietnam in 2000. How many years will we be arguing about Iraq and its inevitable sequels?

I would agree with that.

kerry — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 13:20:43 -0600

I would agree with that. That is why there is so much idol worship in this country for people like Bill Gates. It reinforces that whole idea that inequality is working. It is all very bizarre to me.

Why does a large percentage

epppie — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 12:56:44 -0600

Why does a large percentage of america fetishize inequality as proof of virtue!!! I don't know that people would put it quite this way, but I think many people base their thinking on the idea that inequality is the desired outcome of society, not an indication that society needs some reworking.

I think that Lyndon

kerry — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:20:07 -0600

I think that Lyndon Johnson's "War On Poverty" proved that we will never eliminate poverty in this country until we are willing to engage in an honest and open discussion about the distribution of wealth. We could eliminate poverty in one stroke just by passing legislation that guarantees a living wage to all Americans (something George McGovern advocated)and redistributes the wealth downward. All other measures just pay lip service to the problem without providing solutions.