Besides, giving money to the poor does not encourage them to better themselves. It encourages them to continue being poor.
I thought that kind of attitude died in the depression
It never died. It continues to be true.
What has the Great Society done to impact poverty rates? Absolutely nothing.
If we expanded the Great Society, what would it do to poverty rates? Absolutely nothing, in fact it might increase them, as it would encourage more people to be poor.
Some achievements of the ARC/ARDA:
*In the mid-60's, infant mortality in much of Appalachia was twice the national average. It's now more-or-less at the national average and is only signifincantly higher in a few remote counties.
*Primary healthcare is now within a 30 minute drive for pretty much everyone in Appalachia (this was achieved in 1985)
*Many communities once plauged by chronic water shortages now benifit from dramatic increases in water supply
*In 1965 one in every three Appalachians lived in poverty, more than twice the national average. This number has since been cut in half and Appalachia's poverty rate is now only about 1 and a half percentage points above the national average. Since 1965 per capita income has risen by nearly five points to 81% of the national average*ARC/ARDA has been responsible for the rehabilitation and construction of over 15,000 housing units
*In 1965 only 32% of Appalachians finished high school. It's now 76%.*Outmigration has declined markedly
*Over 3,000 miles of highway has been built as part of the Appalachian Development Highway System
And they've done a lot of other stuff as well... but there's still a hell of a lot of work needs doing... (check out
www.arc.gov) if funding for Regional Development is slashed it will be one of the biggest disasters to hit my constituents in living memory.
As the recent Mid Term elections have proved there is no mandate and very little support for these sort of cuts.
