50 Years Later the War on Poverty Continues

(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

It was 50 years ago this week that President Lyndon B. Johnson declared the beginning of the “War on Povery” in his first State of the Union address that was given just two months after the assassination of Pres. John F. Kennedy. That was continues today.

Fifty years ago this week, President Lyndon B. Johnson launched his “war on poverty,” which led to many of the federal and state initiatives low-income Americans rely on today – Medicaid, Medicare, subsidized housing, Head Start, legal services, nutrition assistance, raising the minimum wage, and later, food stamps and Pell grants. Five decades later, many say another war on poverty is needed. We are joined by Peter Edelman, author of “So Rich, So Poor: Why It’s So Hard to End Poverty in America.” A faculty director at the Center on Poverty, Inequality and Public Policy at Georgetown University, Edelman was a top adviser to Senator Robert F. Kennedy and a member of President Bill Clinton’s administration until he resigned in protest after Clinton signed the 1996 welfare reform law that threw millions of people off the rolls.