War on Poverty Failed… But Change is Coming

Total federal, state, and local government spending on welfare programs now top $1 trillion annually. Despite that, too many Americans still live in poverty, and more people than ever before depend on the government for housing, food, and income. 
The Heritage Foundation, to which Patricia and I belong, works to preserve the values which made our nation the wonder that it became. Recently, Kay Coles James became its new president. She is a wonderful appointment because of her skill and background, and also because she is a black woman who grew up in poverty and climbed to the top ranks of government. She formerly served as Virginia’s Secretary of Health and Human Resources. Poverty impacts all races but disproportionately affects minorities; so having minority leadership is particularly important in guiding policy reform for our welfare system.
James recently had a conversation with House Speaker Paul Ryan on the topic of poverty in America. I share a little of that edited conversation to encourage you as it encourages me:  
RYAN: I believe in the American idea – the condition of your birth does not determine the outcome of your life, in a free society with a free economy and freedom and limited government, that helps the most people flourish as possible. …I’m very excited about helping get people out of poverty, into the workforce, helping get people to where they want to go in life. That’s what our principles are all about… We now have a really good chance of dramatically advancing that cause.
JAMES: I was born to a welfare mom, a father who was suffering under the chemical addiction of alcohol, and my mother had to struggle to raise six children living in a public housing project. People ask me about being a black conservative Republican, “How in the world can you possibly be, given your particular background?” They tend to think that the policies I endorse and promote come out of some newfound religion that I got late in life, but quite frankly, my definition of a black conservative is someone who has the audacity to believe their grandmother.
My grandmother was the best anti-poverty program I ever knew – the values that she put into us, the things that she instilled in us. … I lived those (welfare) programs. I have seen the effects,… the unintended consequences of the misguided compassion of people who genuinely do care about poor people.
RYAN: (The problem with the War on Poverty is, it tells people), “You are stuck in your current station in life, and government is here to help you cope with it,” which is antithetical to the American idea of opportunity, upward mobility, and flourishing.
The War on Poverty, took so many Americans who were not poor and pushed them off to the sidelines and told them, “… Government will fix this problem.”
JAMES: (T)here’s a serious problem with the entitlement programs in our country. It has devastating effects. …I think everyone would concede that Democrats care a great deal about this. The progressives in this country care deeply about poor people. So do we. That’s why I think we can and should reach a tremendous amount of consensus on this because if you genuinely care about solving the problem of poverty in this country, set the partisanship aside, set the politics aside, and let’s look at what works.
RYAN: (G)o with what works – education reform, career and technical education reform, prison reform, opportunity zones, social-impact bonds, welfare-to-work, work requirements, those things actually work to move people from welfare to work so they can get on a path of upward mobility and the dignity of work.
JAMES: Work works. I think that sometimes people think, “You mean-spirited people, why do you want to force people to go to work!” Can you just talk about work for a minute? Why’s that important?
RYAN: First of all, work works because a person gets the dignity of knowing that they are providing for themselves and their family. They get pride from it. They learn from it. They grow from it. Their kids see good examples from it.
When my dad died, I was 16 years old. My mom had to go back to school to get a skill so she could start a small business. The example that I saw, my mom pursuing an education, was a great example to me.
JAMES: My mom was on welfare for a short period of time, and she desperately wanted the dignity of work. She wanted to go out and earn the money. She worked several jobs to … provide for her family. Not only that, I saw my brothers step up. They (caddied at a golf course near the projects for money) to bring home to my mom.
RYAN: So, we know these examples, [because] we’ve lived these examples. The point is, we want that to be shared with everybody in America; by having people work so they can set good examples. What’s exciting about this moment and this time is, jobs are out there. The economy is growing. The (jobless-claims) rate is at an (extreme) low. We have 6.6 million jobs available right now in America. We have 12 million able-bodied adults who are working age, who could work, who aren’t, or could be in school getting a skill who are not.
JAMES: (T)he American people are some of the most compassionate people on the planet. We give charitably. I think what’s important for people to understand as we move into the phase where this becomes legislation, and they hear the policy debates going on, that wanting someone to have the opportunity to work, someone who is able to work, it’s not a mean-spirited, nasty thing to require of someone. It is one of the most empowering, one of the most exciting opportunities for anyone. What I’m hoping is, out of conversations like this, people will come to understand that there are people of good will, people who care about poverty, people who care about uplifting the poor and providing hope and opportunity on both sides of the aisle.