No relief. No cure. No prevention.

The government programs launched as part of the U.S. War on Poverty would allow the country, in the words of President Johnson, to “not only to relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it.” They have not done any of the three.

Percentage of Americans who need assistance just to get by:

1 out of 6
in 1973

1 out of 4
today

To continue tweaking our current approach is not a wise investment of your tax dollars or your charitable donations. That much we know. What we don’t know is how much we even spend on it. Many estimates place it at over one trillion dollars every single year, just on the government side. Charitable donations relative to poverty are also difficult to measure precisely, given the overlap of education, health, and other issues, but the data indicates that well over one hundred billion dollars are given on the private side each year.

What we are doing is not working

Despite this spending, everywhere you look in the United States, there is growing economic struggle. In urban America, rural America, and suburban America, our neighbors are worse off than ever, a refrain we hear everywhere we go and from everyone with whom we speak. Poverty not only persists, it has become America’s most enduring crisis. It brings with it a scarcity that is not only unnecessary in a country of such abundance, it is inhuman.

A debilitating cycle

Let us know if you want to take informed action in your community.