Commentary
Since the launch of the War on Poverty in the 1960s, the rate of those living in poverty, as defined by the U.S. government, has stubbornly persisted. Yet before that, the American poverty rate was dropping fast. It was around 32 percent in 1950, but postwar prosperity and a booming job market lifted thousands out of destitution, bringing it to 12.8 percent by the time the War’s programs took effect in 1968. Yet in the intervening half-century, it has never dropped below 10 percent. This is not for lack of effort. Per capita government spending on the poor has gone from $2,701 at the outset to $29,214 today (adjusted for inflation).