The Pros And Cons Of The Great Society

The Great Society was a domestic social program created in the 1960’s by President Lyndon Johnson. While President Johnson acknowledged the greatness of the United States, he also recognized there was a large segment of the United States that was not part of the success story – people living in poverty.
While I am not saying that giving to the less fortunate is wrong or those who are at disadvantages because of uncontrollable circumstances should not be given an opportunity to help themselves, I am stating my beliefs that the so-called “Great Society” has not been effective in the reduction of poverty and in many cases may actually be contributing to the continuance of people living in poverty. My initial notion when thinking about the less fortunate is welfare. I understand that welfare is necessary to help the most disadvantaged in times of crisis, but too often it is taken advantage of by people who use it as a permanent source of income. One of the things that was wrong with the way President Johnson set up the welfare system was there was no time limit as to how long someone was eligible to receive payment. This was corrected in 1996 by President Bill Clinton, who passed federal welfare laws
Why is it that students, striving for academic success and willing to risk debt for education are required to pay back government issued money while (some of the) people on welfare are in the position they’re in because of their own mistakes and unwillingness to progress? As we’re here bettering ourselves with an education, even a few people on welfare could be sitting next to us by taking out a student loan to better their lives and possibly undo mistakes they’ve made in the past…but it just seems like too much to ask for someone to pay money