Failure in War on Poverty

Any time the federal government declares a "War on....", you can bet your bottom dollar -- or tax dollar, in most cases -- the outcome will be utter failure at a massive taxpayer expense.

The long-ago declared War on Drugs has turned into full surrender with nary a dip in the drug usage or availability after massive resources for law enforcement, education and an array of other tools.

But the real stinker comes from a report out last week on the utter failure and colossal waste of funding on the War on Poverty.

Declared 50 years ago with great flare by President Lyndon Johnson, the tsunami of federal tax dollars began flowing to those in need in the form of welfare assistance.

Fifty years and now with 80 low income federal programs, the rate of poverty -- by the same measure used at the start of the "war" -- is higher today than when the program began.

And the price tag? An astrological $22 trillion has been shifted from workers' pockets to non-workers' pockets and we have zip to show for it.

Zip!

But we have created a comfortable non-working class who have discovered they can earn more from taxpayers than they can from finding a job.

But I most certainly don't blame the poor who take advantage of these programs.

I blame us. We workers and voters and taxpayers who send idiots to Washington, D.C., to expand these programs and carve out new ways to siphon hard-earned dollars should be in the crosshairs of all Americans.

Were it not so sickening, the expenditure of $22 trillion with no results would be a laughing matter. But as your paycheck clearly illustrates, it's no laughing matter when your sacrifices for those in need produce no results whatsoever.

And are those in need trying like the rest of us to improve their lot in life? Well, the same War on Poverty survey shows that less than one in five of the jobless even look for a job on a daily basis. In fact, the survey shows that the unemployed spend more time shopping on a daily basis than looking for a job.

And who can blame them? If you actually see a drop in income by working, many would choose to stay on government assistance than finding a job.

Mitt Romney was criticized and lost a presidential election because of a remark concerning the 47 percent of Americans who depend on the federal government for their financial well being.

Those voters are much more likely to support the political party that promises a continuing flow of taxes from producers to non-producers.

Romney was right, and though it was obvious, the left-leaning national media created a firestorm over the comments.

Way back in the good old days, Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich hammered out legislation that put a work component in the welfare program. And it worked. In fact, it was a fantastic success in reducing welfare rolls and putting million into the workforce.

But one of many Obama executive orders undid that success and today, the dependent population remains as large as it has ever been.

The real problem will come down the road when we awaken and recognize that these expenditures are no longer possible. The bank is empty.

After 50 years and trillions of dollars, we should long ago have recognized that our war strategy is not working and simply surrendered.

Michael Jensen is the publisher of the Sikeston Standard Democrat.