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The Housing Act of 1949
This passes the objective to provide a decent home and suitable living environment for Americans. -
HUD
Created as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty, the Department of Housing and Urban Development was established as a Department by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act. -
President Johnson's War on Poverty
Welfare was not available for two
parent families, Caused outrage. -
Food Stamp Act
An amendment to the Food Stamp Act was
passed declaring that food stamps could not cost
more than 30% of a family's income, making
food stamps more accessible and affordable. -
Historical Lowness of Poverty in the U.S.
The historic low for poverty, 11.1% of the
country was impoverished. -
President Nixon takes action
President Nixon attempts to reduce welfare
rolls by complicating the verification process. -
Cuts made to welfare program
Dramatic cuts were made to the food stamp
and welfare program. Cuts totaled $20 billion. -
Congress Passes "JOBS"
Congress passes JOBS (Job
Opportunities and Basic Skills) Act to
provide assistance for the poor to
transition out of poverty. -
Cuts made to Food Program
$27 million in cuts were made to the food
stamp program -
2002-2007
6 million people were added to the
definition of being in poverty. -
President Obama Takes Action
President Obama signed the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, an initiative
to help fight poverty by increasing funding
for low income workers, the unemployed,
and retirees (including job training) $82.2
billion. -
Government Assistance Proves Helpful
Government assistance has kept 40 million
people out of poverty, close to 20 million
from Social Security alone. -
Poverty Rates (2012)
The poverty rate is 15.1%, with 46.2 million people in
poverty, and 15 million of those are children. -
Government programs (2017)
Government programs kept tens of millions out of poverty in 2017