This year marks the 50 th anniversary of the War on Poverty, launched in 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson. However, more universal social insurance programs—such as Social Security, Medicare, and Unemployment Insurance—may be the nation's most important antipoverty programs. These proposals would touch upon numerous existing federal programs. To provide a framework for analyzing current and future proposals, the report then presents several overarching themes that have recurred in poverty policy debates over the course of this history. Some of the varied—and interrelated—factors that have been cited as either associated with or causing poverty are:
low earnings capacity because of an individual's education, skills, and ability levels; effects of racial and other forms of discrimination in various sectors of the economy and society, such as housing, schools, and the workplace; lack of jobs, either because of a poor national economy or a poor local economy; slow growth in wage rates; growing up in a single-parent household; personal behaviors and life choices made by individuals, such as having a child out-of-wedlock or as a teenager, divorce, or substance abuse; and the design of certain assistance programs that might discourage work or marriage, or encourage out-of-wedlock births. In his legislative transmittal message to Congress, President Johnson said the act "strikes at the causes, not just the consequences of poverty." Welfare Reform and Noncash Benefits in the 1970s

The Nixon Administration substantially shifted policy direction away from President Johnson's broader War on Poverty to a narrower concept of "welfare reform," specifically focusing on the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program that provided cash assistance to families—primarily single mothers and their children—that met certain standards of need. Major Themes in Poverty Policy Debates

Some themes can be gleaned from the history of federal policies that have addressed poverty. Universal Policies Versus Need-Tested Benefits

As noted in the introduction to this report, the topic of poverty is much broader than a single program or set of programs. The terms "poverty" and "welfare" (typically thought of as cash assistance) are often intertwined in policy discussions but, in reality, poverty is affected by many aspects of public policy. A subject of ongoing debate is whether policies related to poverty should rely on "universal" approaches—that is, apply to everyone—or be targeted specifically to those with financial need. Universal approaches include the following:
macroeconomic policies that affect the overall health of the economy (such as broad spending and tax policies, and monetary policies); social insurance programs that cover all or most of the population and provide benefits in the event of specific circumstances (such as Social Security, Medicare, and Unemployment Insurance); legal policies (antidiscrimination laws) and regulatory policies (such as minimum wage laws); and the provision of public goods and services (like free and universal public education) to the population at large. Need-tested benefits were provided to low-income groups who were not expected to work. Public policies now encourage and/or require parents with children to work. In addition, labor-intensive services can be costly. However, the Great Depression overwhelmed the resources of states, local governments, and private organizations in serving the poor, and the federal government fully entered the fields of social insurance and social welfare in 1935 with enactment of the Social Security Act. Policy makers disagree about the appropriate balance between levels of government in the design and funding of social programs. Spending on health care has dominated all spending for low-income assistance programs in recent years. These twin policies—work requirements and "make work pay"—continue today and, particularly with regard to cash welfare, are viewed as being effective in meeting their goal.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty, but poverty remains a difficult policy challenge. The Obama Administration and some in Congress have offered proposals that seek to address poverty, with the proposals differing considerably in their focus and content. However, the themes reflected in these proposals echo prior efforts to address the issue of poverty.
The terms "poverty" and "welfare" (commonly thought of as cash assistance for the poor) are often intertwined, but federal policies affecting poverty are broader than a single program or set of programs. In fact, the social insurance program of Social Security may be the nation's most important antipoverty program. The incidence and character of poverty is affected by many facets of public life.
Over the last century, several watershed events have affected federal policies for the poor. These include the enactment of the Social Security Act in 1935, creating the first federal social insurance and federal-state public assistance programs; President Johnson's War on Poverty launched in 1964 that sought to address the "causes, not just the consequences of poverty" and began a period of expansion of services and noncash benefits for the poor; the "welfare reform" debates that began in 1969 and lasted until the mid-1990s, as societal expectations for single mothers shifted from staying home with children to work; and the culmination of these debates in the mid-1990s with the twin policies of requiring parents receiving assistance to work and "making work pay" for low wage-earning parents. Most recently, the Affordable Care Act expanded health care coverage, particularly for lower-income persons.
As federal antipoverty policy evolved—and some approaches were adopted, while others were not—certain overarching themes have recurred, including the following:
Universal policies versus need-tested benefits: should policies be designed to benefit everyone, or be targeted on those with financial need? Income, services, or employment strategies: which of these strategies is most effective in reducing poverty? Work and other behavioral requirements: should conditions be placed on the receipt of assistance, and what behaviors should those conditions reinforce? Concepts of federalism: what is the appropriate balance between the federal, state and local governments in designing and implementing programs? Coordination and related policies: how can multiple programs work together to avoid overlap and duplication? Experimentation: how can we determine effectiveness? Budget considerations: what do programs cost, and how are these costs balanced against other federal priorities?
The current congressional proposals and those of the Obama Administration, as well as future proposals, can be analyzed through the framework of these recurring major themes.