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The War on Poverty Then and Now

The War on Poverty Then and Now. Lessons Learned From its Legacy and What the Public Thinks We Should Do Moving Forward. Erik R. Stegman, Associate Director, Half in Ten Campaign Center for American Progress Action Fund. Minnesota Without Poverty Call to Action St. Paul, MN May 1 st , 2014.

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The War on Poverty Then and Now

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  1. The War on Poverty Then and Now Lessons Learned From its Legacy and What the Public Thinks We Should Do Moving Forward Erik R. Stegman, Associate Director, Half in Ten Campaign Center for American Progress Action Fund Minnesota Without Poverty Call to Action St. Paul, MN May 1st, 2014

  2. Join our Efforts! • Fill out the sign-up forms • Text HalfinTen to 30644

  3. Center for American Progress and CAP Action

  4. About Half in Ten • National campaign to cut poverty in half in ten years (2010-2020) • Partnership between CAP Action, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the Coalition on Human Needs • Based on a simple premise: we HAVE cut poverty in half before and we can do it again.

  5. Overview • The national commitment and what sparked it • Breaking down a changed economy since the 1960’s • Impact of War on Poverty programs • The challenge and opportunity behind the anniversary of the War on Poverty • Q&A

  6. LBJ Calls the Nation to Action “This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America…It will not be a short or easy struggle, no single weapon or strategy will suffice, but we shall not rest until that war is one. The richest nation on earth can afford to win it. We cannot afford to lose it.” - President Lyndon B. Johnson State of the Union Address January 8, 1964

  7. “Although the economic well-being and prosperity of the United States have progressed to a level surpassing any achieved in world history, and although these benefits are widely shared throughout the Nation, poverty continues to be the lot of a substantial number of our people.” —Section 2 of Economic Opportunity Act of 1964

  8. A New National Commitment • Launched in a period of widely-shared economic prosperity • The decade that followed developed a strong foundation of programs which make up today’s safety net including (not exhaustive): • New health insurance for the elderly (Medicare) and poor (Medicaid) • Expansions of food stamps, Social Security and other programs • New job training and readiness programs • New early childhood programs like Head Start • Changes to existing cash assistance (“welfare”) programs • Assistance to low-income public school • Higher education assistance • Housing assistance • Labor market reforms

  9. A Parallel to Civil Rights Reforms In addition to the significant new investments in anti-poverty efforts, there was a parallel and important commitment to civil rights reforms: • Civil Rights Act of 1964 • The Voting Rights Act of 1965

  10. Productivity Source: Economic Policy Institute, State of Working America.

  11. Increase in Family Income: 1947-1964

  12. Increase in Family Income: 1965-1979

  13. Increase in Family Income: 1980-2010

  14. Productivity Source: Economic Policy Institute, State of Working America.

  15. Nutrition Assistance Largely Eliminated Severe Hunger • Food Stamps permanently created in 1964 • Strengthened the school lunch program in 1966 • Established a pilot version of the WIC program in 1972 • Our poll found that 85% of Americans support expansion to nutrition assistance programs.

  16. Head Start Boosts School Readiness and Development

  17. Pell Grants Make Higher Ed More Accessible • Created by the Higher Ed Act of 1965 • 84% of Americans support expanding publically-funded scholarships according to our poll

  18. Medicaid Provides Essential Health Coverage

  19. Social Security Provides Economic Security • Created by FDR, but significantly expanded through the 1965 amendments to the Social Security Act • 22.2 million more Americans would be in poverty without Social Security in 2012

  20. Rising Income Inequality and Unequal Growth

  21. Context Matters • The official anniversary of President Johnson’s speech was in January • Marking the anniversary provides an opportunity to reignite a national debate: • What they say:“We launched a war on poverty, and poverty won.” Some are applying this idea to all of today’s anti-poverty programs • What we believe: “The War on Poverty didn’t fail, our economy has failed.”

  22. 1. Media Attention • Increased attention on poverty • Differing views & narratives on WOP, “opportunity” and poverty today

  23. 2. Mixed Messages • Attacks will be on the whole safety net, not just the original WOP programs • New generations have different understandings and impressions

  24. 3. A Changed Economy • We made great progress cutting poverty in the late 60’s, early 70’s, and 1990’s with low unemployment and rising wages across income levels • Today, stagnant wages and rising inequality

  25. 4. The Last Election Mattered • An emerging multiracial, multiethnic, cross-class coalition • 2012 election focused the public’s attention on inequality: what’s behind “the 47 percent”

  26. What Happens if We Don’t Engage

  27. We let others define the impact of the policies we care about. “Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty. We’ve spent approximately $15 trillion and the question we ought to be asking ourselves is, ‘where are we?’ With a 15 percent poverty rate today — the highest in a generation — and with 46 million people in poverty, I would argue it’s not working very well.” – Rep. Paul Ryan

  28. We let others define “opportunity.” “When you subsidize people you create a dependency and rob them of dignity. Government should create opportunity and protect the country.” – Pastor Rick Warren on ABC News

  29. We let the wrong policy visions gain traction. “The welfare reforms of the 1990s, despite their success, were never extended beyond cash welfare to other means-tested programs. This budget completes the successful work of transforming welfare by reforming other areas of America’s safety net to ensure that welfare does not entrap able-bodied citizens into lives of complacency and dependency.” - Report, House Budget Committee on FY2014 resolution

  30. But, we can take advantage of the opportunities. Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency

  31. Our commitment to cut poverty worked in the past. • And we can do it again • Through a full employment economy where economic growth is widely shared • And a strong set of responsive federal programs that support families when they struggle

  32. We can counter false narratives and share our own proactive vision. • Leveraging media attention • Elevating local and national leaders • Putting values back in the conversation

  33. Holding policymakers accountable • What really works to reduce poverty • Supporting those who make poverty reduction a priority • Not letting others hide behind words like “opportunity”

  34. The Opportunity • Immediate Term: We can work together to combat further attacks on the legacy of the War on Poverty. We can organize to push back on Paul Ryan’s expected poverty proposal. • Medium-Long Term: We need your help to be proactive about ongoing and upcoming policy debates, such as minimum wage

  35. Thank You estegman@americanprogress.org HalfinTen.org @ErikStegman (tweet tweet) Fill out the sign-up forms Text HalfinTen to 30644

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