Letter to the Editor; War on Poverty helped more onto dole

To the Editor:

50 years ago LBJ declared a war on poverty. Even though disadvantaged people have access to better living conditions and very few are actually hungry, his program failed.He wanted people to have the opportunity to (earn a living) and not live on doles of which there are more than 80 means-tested welfare programs.

During 2012 alone our government spent $916 billion on these programs at an average cost of $9,000 per recipient.

The average American living below the poverty line has a home that is in good repair (to start out), that has air-conditioning, cable T.V. and a telephone. The average non-poor French, German or English home does not have that. Unfortuanately, too many American homes have only one parent in the home. Even though one parent homes start out in good condition they are not as well kept so they deteriorate faster as a lack of pride erodes the homes.

When children are raised in an unkempt home they usually don’t do as well in school or in society!

LBJ meant well, but the $20 trillion dollars of doles just helped more people live without working!

Gerald W. Ray

Spokane