About War on Poverty
Star Parker, failed California Republican politician, failed California radio host and now syndicated columnist, is a little confused in her column “More government, less religion.” Does poverty in America persist? Yes. Does this mean the War on Poverty was a failure as Republicans keep saying? No. Let’s take a look at “The War on Poverty 50 years Later: A Progress Report” from the President’s Council of Economic Advisers.
In 1959, 58 percent of the poor had indoor plumbing. Now it is 99 percent. Infant mortality has fallen in the poorest counties from 23.2 per 1,000 pregnancies to 9.1 per 1,000. Children have access to medical care thanks to Medicaid. Childhood poverty fell from 26 percent to 18 percent.
The largest fall in poverty was in those over 65, from 39.9 percent in 1959 to 14.8 percent in 2014. Medicare allows those over 65 to access medical care.
Among the employed, poverty fell from 17.8 percent to 10 percent. Among the unemployed, poverty fell from 55 percent to 29 percent. Rural poverty fell from 32 percent to 13 percent. Illegal immigrants don’t qualify, despite much Republican disinformation; the poverty rate for immigrants was unchanged at 23 percent to 25 percent.
A more broadly defined measure of income from government benefits by the Federal Reserve’s evaluation shows an even greater fall in poverty rates to below 5 percent when all transfer and tax credits are accounted for.
Each of the categories contains millions of people who are no longer poor. This is not a failure, but a success of governmental interventions.
The U.S. economy grew enormously over the last 50 years of the War on Poverty. Incomes in the United States grew, especially for the well-educated.
Contrary to Ms. Parker, Democrats are very interested in the success sequence. Expansion of the child tax credit is aimed at further reducing child poverty and improving access to early childhood education, which has been shown to improve education attainment later in life, reduce crime, reduce teen parenthood, improve health and improve employment. These all support the success sequence she cites.
MARK WEAVER
Fayetteville