Bush 'war on poverty' must avoid Johnson's errors

After Katrina, the president promised bold action to fight poverty and racism. I just hope he doesn't declare another "war on poverty."

Fighting poverty and racism in America is a tall order and should not be trivialized by rushing in with short-term solutions. The last war on poverty died a slow death, and President Nixon appointed Donald Rumsfeld to bury it.

President Johnson's war on poverty failed primarily for two reasons: (1) mercenaries (hired professionals) fought the war, yet the civilian population (the poor) was never involved; and, (2) while he appointed Sargent Shriver and gave him the responsibility to coordinate the efforts of all the federal agencies, he never gave him the power to do so. It's not unlike the four-year-old Department of Homeland Security where the government has hired the mercenaries but has not involved the civilians. This administration gave the Homeland Security secretary the power to coordinate but only limited control over the budget of the various agencies. The result: a bloated bureaucracy too heavy to move.

The president acknowledged the existence of racism and poverty in America and made a commitment to take bold action to deal with them. What he has done is raise expectations, especially among the poor. When the president said he would do whatever it takes to solve the problem, the anxiety level among taxpayers was raised. Such action is self-defeating since the costs will be borne by the taxpayers who can least afford it — the poor, including senior citizens on fixed incomes. Furthermore, the idea of cutting back on social programs and then adding more programs to hire professionals and big business is indefensible.

The problems are chronic and have plagued the nation for decades. The urban race riots of the '60s, which saw our cities burning, were the results of people fighting blatant discrimination that kept black Americans from having a crack at the American dream. The 1968 "Report of the Nation's Advisory Commission on Civil Disobedience" documents the historical nature of discrimination and offers recommendations to deal with it that are applicable today. The problems brought out by Katrina are most prevalent in our urban areas and are remnants of discrimination rooted in the slavery of blacks in this country. Though progress has been made in eliminating racism in America, the pictures of the Katrina disaster in New Orleans say it all.

The solution to improving the lives of black Americans is the same as for all Americans — equal opportunity and education. A 1989 study, "Black Economic Progress After Myrdal" (Journal of Economic Literature), found that the greatest economic progress made by blacks was their migration from the south to the north where they had access to better education.