End America's longest-running war

 Now that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are winding down, I wonder about the prospects for ending America's longest-running war.

You didn't know we were engaged in a longer war than Afghanistan?

It's called The War on Poverty.

What is the exit strategy for this war?

What will peace look like?

Trillions of innocent American dollars have been lost fighting this fruitless war. Four decades after the war was initiated by Lyndon B. Johnson, nearly half of U.S. citizens are reported “in poverty.” The quote marks are there, because there seems to be little agreement on what constitutes poverty in the U.S. today.

Not only has the war on poverty not helped people get out of poverty, it seems to have trapped those in poverty to remain in poverty, and sucked more people into poverty. How can this be, you ask?

Government welfare programs stifle individual incentive and reward sloth. Why would anyone look for work, when you can “earn” almost as much by staying at home? Not coincidentally, subsidies to unwed mothers have been accompanied by an increase in illegitimacy and a breakup of the American family. An unwed mom of 15 became a hot YouTube segment when she demanded that “Somebody needs to pay for all my children. Somebody needs to be held accountable, and they need to pay.” Apparently, she didn't think that she or the three fathers of her 15 children should be expected to bear any of the responsibility. She blamed the social service agencies that are trying to help her.

Moreover, a sociology study at the University of Pennsylvania showed that single mothers routinely spent more than their reported incomes and did not sacrifice luxuries such as cable TV, eating out or buying expensive sneakers.

“Poverty” in America looks quite different from poverty in other countries. Low-income households in the U.S. tend to own more appliances and larger houses than many middle-income Europeans. A poverty expert wrote in 2011 that the majority of those deemed to be below the poverty level have adequate food, shelter, clothing and medical care.

If the victims of poverty in the U.S. have air conditioning, cable TV, furniture, appliances and expensive sneakers, maybe we should just declare victory in the war on poverty, and pull out. The federal government needs to withdraw and turn the fight over to the local troops: neighbors, churches and local charities, who have been fighting poverty for much longer and doing it much more efficiently.

Local entities have a better grip on the needs of their own community, and they can help those truly in need without making them lose their dignity or sense of self worth. It is axiomatic, that people come to resent charity that demands no responsibility. Conversely, recipients of welfare tend to pull themselves out of poverty and have a higher sense of self worth when they are required to work for what they receive. I know of a local home for recovering drug and alcohol addicts that is a prime example. The men in this home have to live by strict rules and perform duties at the home, or they have to leave.

Charity is one of the many things that government does badly – very badly. Stop the federal government's War on Poverty. Bring the troops home where they can do more good for those who need it most.