LBJ and the Great Society

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LBJ and the Great Society
Lyndon Baines Johnson stands out to be one amongst leaders who have significantly sponsored effective reform agenda in the United States. Lyndon`s reform agenda had similar impacts to that of Roosevelt`s New Deal concept that had saved the country from the adverse struggles influenced by the Great Depression (U.S. History, 1). Lyndon reform course began immediately after the burial of President Kennedy who was murdered. He named his reform-based campaign as the Great Society. Under this movement, domestic issues such as racial injustice and poverty were settled.
The United States economy was gradually diminishing due to adverse impacts of the post-war and the immediate conception of the Cold War (U.S. History, 1). In 1964, President Johnson through his movement Great Society initiated a tax cut system that reduced the tax rate by 7.1% (Etzoni, 115). This tax reduction system triggered economic prosperity for many Americans since more employment chances were created. More ever, these significant economic changes made the Great Society reform campaign to be popular, and Johnson again reacted by reducing the tax rate by 8.2% and 9.1% in both 1965 and 1966 consecutively (Etzoni, 115). In 1966, 55% of families in the United States were living with an average income of more than $8000 annually while the rate of unemployment was abruptly reduced to less than 5% (Etzoni, 116). In that same year, the rate of disposable individual income increased by 15%, and this made the federal revenue to rapid grew by 56 million between the years 1966 to 1967 (Etzoni, 115).

Consequently, when Johnson took the presidency role he immediately signed the Civil Right Bill that was assured by President Kennedy (U.S. History, 1). In the new Civil Right Act, issues of discriminations such as gender and racial profiling were banned in any employment sector. The law also spearheaded the ban of segregation in any public facilities. Additionally, in 1965, he passed the Voting Right Act that gave the minority a chance to register and vote in any public election (U.S. History, 1). This also suspended limitation voter qualification such as literacy that always served as a factor that locked out African- America from voting. In addition to that, President Johnson initiated the Immigration and Nationality Service Act that ensured that the national-origin quotas were banned from the immigration policy that was used to limit the number immigrants coming from a particular region. For instance, not more 170000 immigrants were supposed to come from Eastern hemisphere while at least 120000 immigrants were required to come from the Western hemisphere (Etzoni, 118).
Besides, the Great Society campaign also passed some laws based housing and urban development that allowed the allocation of funds to the Robert Weaver`s housing development projects that offered cheap houses and also banned housing discrimination (U.S. History, 1). This policy also assured that the native-Americans reservations were constitutionally protected. In the process fighting poverty, the Great Society banner launched the Office of Economic Opportunity campaign that was based on reducing unemployment, hunger, and illiteracy in the United States society (Etzoni, 112). For example, the federal government released funds for sponsoring education in slum regions through subsidizing on books, transport, and slum clearances project.
In 1965, the government was influenced to add the Appalachian Regional Development Act that provided a strategic guideline on how job chances were created in the highly impoverished areas of the nation (Aaron, 259). These strategies incorporated mechanism through which poor youths could obtain higher education and job training. Therefore, the fight against poverty was launched through initiating a series of job training, offering affordable education and community development programs (Aaron, 294). This was clearly stated in the Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA). The idea of community action was also paramount in Great Society campaign since it ensured that the poor were involved in farm and development tasks.
Contrarily, the aspect of education was a crucial element in the Great Society campaign and President Johnson initiated the Elementary and Secondary Act that provided funds to many parochial and public schools for special education program and books (Aaron, 301). The concept of health was also handled in the Great Society reform. This was through a Medicare program stated under the 1965 Social Security Amendment Act that offered health insurance to individual who were seriously disabled or the elderly (ITCA Medicaid, 2). The Medicaid was also put in place to offer a reduced health insurance for the poor individuals in the society (ITCA Medicaid, 2).
Alternatively, the concept of welfare was advanced with providing availability of contraceptives to poor youths (ITCA Medicaid, 3). The concept of arts and cultural institutions was facilitated by policies such the National Foundation on Art and Humanities Act that funded any humanity and art program in the society (Aaron, 234). The element of consumer protection was facilitated by policies like the Motor Vehicle Safety Act, Water Quality Act, Fair Packaging, and Labeling Act, or Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act that ensured that society was safe from any product (Aaron, 234). Lastly, Great Society prides itself for the extended protection of untouched resources in the entire United States. There was a guaranteed protection from noise pollution, solid waste disposal, aircraft noise, and the protection of endangered species under the guideline of Great Society reform (Aaron, 234).
Simultaneously, the Great Society ideologies have faced various criticisms since its conception in the 1960s. For example, a reporter called Rector Robert who works with Heritage Foundation stated that the Great Society campaign might have offered instant solutions to the problems experienced in the 1960s (Buchanan, 1). However, the Great Society reform structure was not a sustainable strategic plan for ending American perennial problems. Today, the social welfare expenditure launched by the Great Society is costing the tax payers huge amount of money. In 2015, social welfare cost the federal government one trillion dollars when you sum the entire cost of the program since its initial started in the 1960s, the government has spent $ 17 trillion dollars (Buchanan, 1). Even though the issues of housing was settled there still cases of homeless individual increasing daily. For example, in the rise of the great recession in 2008, many Americans lost their homes when they failed to pay their huge mortgages (Buchanan, 1). Therefore, the Great Society project on housing was not effective.
Currently, it is estimated that 67.3 million people in the United States rely on the government for food, housing, student aid, income and health services (Buchanan, 1). Additionally, in 2010, the federal government reported a milestone that half of the American population is not paying the federal income taxes as required by law. This shows that Great Society reform created a lazy nation. According to John C. Calhoun who was a popular business figure in the 19 century, stated that it was wrong for the government to divide the nation into tax-consumers and tax-payers (Buchanan, 1). This is nature of the Great Society reform that tends to extract money from the hardworking citizens and offer it to lazy people in disguise face of fighting poverty.
In conclusion, the Great Society reform strategy was effective in ensuring tax was reduced, education was affordable, job opportunity increased, and health care was also affordable. Additionally, the society was developing through housing programs and reduced discrimination cases. Many critics of the Great Society suggest that the reform may have offered immediate solutions to the problems experienced in 1960. However, the Great Society was not a sustainable strategic plan for ending American perennial problems for good.
Work Cited
Aaron, Henry. Politics and the professors: The great society in perspective. Brookings Institution Press, 2010.
Buchanan J. Patrick. Did the Great Society Ruin Society. The American Conservative Website, 2012. http://www.theamericanconservative.com/2012/02/23/did-the-great-society-ruin-society/
Etzoni Amitai. Consensus and Reforms in the “Great Society.” Columbia University Website, 2016. https://www2.gwu.edu/~ccps/etzioni/A73.pdf
ITCA Medicaid. The Impact of the Great Society Upon the Lives of Families and Young Children. Idea infant toddler.Org Website, 2005. http://www.ideainfanttoddler.org/pdf/AppA.pdf
U.S. History. Lyndon John`s “Great Society.” U.S. History.org Website, 2016. http://www.ushistory.org/us/56e.asp