Martin Luther King Jr. was probably the bravest man I have ever seen, confronting a racist country where he was in a big minority. Reverend King gave his life for his cause and I cannot imagine what it was like for him everyday as people would call him name’s, try to accost him and treat him as he was inhuman. Yet he kept up his cause and he was successful although he was killed before seeing what his efforts obtained. There may be a man that comes along as brave as Reverend King but there will never be one braver. I write this praise being a white southerner who grew up in North Carolina. I just wish there were leaders today that could match his determination and energy in guiding America in the right direction.
So after the great efforts of Reverend King and the belief by mainly Democrats and some Republicans that it was time for equal rights for all Americans, we created “The Great Society”. President Lyndon Baines Johnson introduced the “War On Poverty” and “The Equal Opportunity Act” along with many other measures to insure equal rights and opportunities to all Americans. President Johnson and the majority of Congress believed the government should provide health,education and welfare to all Americans. So the program started and since it’s inception the poverty rate has been 11 % to 15.2% after a 17.3 % rate the year it started. Per CNNMoney September 13,2011 the poverty rate was 15.1% in 2010, the highest rate since 1993.
You could conclude that when the economy is hitting on all cylinders about 11% of the population live in poverty and when the economy struggles about 15 % is the number. After 50 years you could say that no matter how much we spend there will be a certain percentage of society that will live in poverty due to various reasons. The entitlements that the “Great Society” produced helped many but it created a belief by many Americans including corporations and politicians that there should be give away programs to all persons, the middle class and wealthy included. Now we find ourselves in a big financial hole and big changes are coming whether we want them or not. The outcome will be the less fortunate will receive less from the government and the wealthy and big business will pay more. The sooner we begin this process the easier it will be for all. We need to return to the days when we were thankful for what we had and make the most of it.