"President Johnson declared a war on poverty in the 60's.What good did it do?It raised taxes,built ghettos,whole generations have been born and raised on welfare.A higher percentage of people live below the poverty level now than when the war on poverty was declared." - Eric
Have you ever really thought about the reasons why more people are living below the poverty line.? Hate to clue you in but the ghettos existed long before the 1964 War on Poverty was declared. In 1970 a person earning minimum wage could actually afford to live on it, i.e., pay rent, have medical insurance, and food. The minimum wage has not increased with inflation. Wages for unskilled and semi-skilled labor have not kept up with inflation. In the town where I work the official town minimum wage is $10.85, not $5.65, for town employees, because town officials know that workers could not survive on that ridiculously low wage and town officials realize happy workers make better employees - novel idea. Why have the discrepancies between upper executives in companies and average workers increased so dramatically in the past 30 years? The average senior executive earns anywhere from 34- 50 times more than the factory worker. I personally agree the executives should earn much more because of the investment they make in education and the responsibility they bear, but such discrepancies are almost obscene and many corporations elsewhere in the world don't have such huge gaps between leaders and workers. Could it be greed?
Switzerland, Germany, Norway, etc., all pay much higher taxes than we do, but they also get cradle to death guarantees. Housing, medical care, decent education, old age care. Yes, these really are socialist hotbeds of revolution. That the wealthiest country in the world still has such a high rate of poverty is sad and shows just how important solving this problem really is to the various governments. By the way, in all of these countries if you don't like the public medical services you can opt to pay extra and go to a private specialist. The choices are there.
No one likes to hear of third generation welfare families. They exist sure, but are they representative of the whole welfare system? I think not. Most states have, or are in the process of, changing the welfare laws to require educational/vocational training and limiting the time one can receive welfare. I think this is working to transform many systems. Now, if employment at a decent wage is available for these welfare folk when they finish their training, most are happy to work. Several friends of mine who work in the computer field lost their jobs last year. They were happy to get unemployment until they found work again. It provided the safety net they needed for several months (one for eight months) until they could find work in the field they were trained for. They had paid taxes for years, and several had bitched about the fact that they had to pay taxes to keep lazy people on the dole, but I bet after their recent experiences they won't be likely to voice that opinion again.
Oh, and Shadley, just for your information George Bush paid a smaller percentage of tax than my brother did (he works in Switzerland and has to pay both US and Swiss taxes) and only a small percentage more than I did. The amount shouldn't be the issue, it is the percentage of gross income. Also, the poor historically vote in much lower percentages as a block in the US than middle or upper classes.
The issue shouldn't be why do we pay taxes but why are the taxes we pay often poorly used? Get rid of special interest lobbies and limit corporate funding in the Congress and it might be a whole new government actually working for you and me, rather than the corn lobby, the NRA, the oil lobby, etc. Never heard of the poor lobby, must be "underfunded."
Local property taxes aren't going to provide enough income for education in poor communities - too many renters, low property taxes, remember the urban flight of the 60s and 70s? Everybody moved to the suburbs, except the poor. Good government means providing the means to improve oneself close at hand and the opportunity to earn enough to live above the poverty line. If this is available and there still exists a large number of poor, then there is a serious problem with the poor themselves. Alas, in many communities in the USA and in many parts of the D.R., these opportunities are not close at hand or are only capable of handling a small number of people in need. I can see the benefits of paying taxes when I see a few success stories. Having taught in areas with high percentages of poverty when I was younger, I have seen those who used hard work and the "public safety net" to pull themselves out of a life of poverty. It does happen all the time, but the drive has to be in the individual and room has to be available in the program as well. My non-sarcastic thoughts on the matter.
