The war on the poor did not end in 1968, which
was the year I finished with the writing of the original edition of The
War on the Poor. There have been changes in tempo and direction
since that time, of course. Indeed, President Lyndon Johnson had already
abandoned most efforts at additional legislation in his War on Poverty
before the writing of the book was completed. And
before the book was published in 1969 he had succumbed to the unpopularity
of the War in Vietnam, withdrawn from the presidential race, and retired
to private life. The War on the Poor was prompted more than
anything else by johnson's War on Poverty. But it had a much broader theme
and longer history than that. My thesis was that the government programs
of intervention in the economy for most of this century were in reality
a concerted war on the poor, though they have often been justified as benefiting
the poor. Further, their history goes back into the 19th century both for
the ideologies that have fostered them and for the initial programs. But
to say that President Johnson was no longer initiating War on Poverty legislation
is not at all to suggest that his War on Poverty, as be called it, was
not still going on. On the contrary, the programs he had earlier initiated
were still being funded generally. Indeed, expenditures on many of his
programs continued to rise after he left office. Government programs of
economic intervention and wealth distribution are of such a character that
they tend to gain momentum for years after the initial legislation is passed.
So it has been with the Johnson programs. They were joined by other programs
with a more or less drastic impact on the poor in the 1970s, such programs
as environmental and safety programs. Old and new farm programs continued
to wreak their particular kinds of havoc in the 1970s and 1980s. Welfare
programs continued to weigh heavily, if that 'is the right way to describe
the impact, on the poor........
And
before the book was published in 1969 he had succumbed to the unpopularity
of the War in Vietnam, withdrawn from the presidential race, and retired
to private life. The War on the Poor was prompted more than
anything else by johnson's War on Poverty. But it had a much broader theme
and longer history than that. My thesis was that the government programs
of intervention in the economy for most of this century were in reality
a concerted war on the poor, though they have often been justified as benefiting
the poor. Further, their history goes back into the 19th century both for
the ideologies that have fostered them and for the initial programs. But
to say that President Johnson was no longer initiating War on Poverty legislation
is not at all to suggest that his War on Poverty, as be called it, was
not still going on. On the contrary, the programs he had earlier initiated
were still being funded generally. Indeed, expenditures on many of his
programs continued to rise after he left office. Government programs of
economic intervention and wealth distribution are of such a character that
they tend to gain momentum for years after the initial legislation is passed.
So it has been with the Johnson programs. They were joined by other programs
with a more or less drastic impact on the poor in the 1970s, such programs
as environmental and safety programs. Old and new farm programs continued
to wreak their particular kinds of havoc in the 1970s and 1980s. Welfare
programs continued to weigh heavily, if that 'is the right way to describe
the impact, on the poor........