I don’t know that I can buy the premise that a culture of poverty came from share-cropping. It seems like migrating north was an attempt by many to break that cycle. Granted, some were forced to leave by technological improvements in farming.

I am not necessarily down on public housing per se. I just don’t like a ton of it all in one place. As Didionsmommy points out, it was used by most cities as a way to segregate the poor / minority population. If we are going to offer public housing, I would like to see it spread out.

I don’t follow what you mean by ‘universal benifits programs’.

i totally DON’T want to be THAT person … the one who’s always saying,

“… and another thing …”

it also makes me so damn mad when people like bill cosby get blasted by this same impotent establishment when giving speeches or publishing research that assigns some of the responsibility for the plight of poor black communities to the communities themselves.

Whoohoo! Work that soapbox!

I agree 10,000,000%

i also think the black-leadership establishment has squandered myriad opportunities to help their communities over the last four decades, especially in the manner in which they have responded to controversial issues and through some unfortunate instances of corruption, and now their power of influence has atrophied to a laughable degree.

it also makes me so damn mad when people like bill cosby get blasted by this same impotent establishment when giving speeches or publishing research that assigns some of the responsibility for the plight of poor black communities to the communities themselves.

interestingly, here are some excerpts from eisenhower’s 1956 state of the union address:

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Under the 1954 Amendments to the old-age and survivors’ insurance program, protection was extended to some 10 million additional workers and benefits were increased. The system now helps protect 9 out of 10 American workers and their families against loss of income in old age or on the death of the breadwinner. The system is sound. It must be kept so. In developing improvements in the system, we must give the most careful consideration to population and social trends, and to fiscal requirements. With these considerations in mind, the Administration will present its recommendations for further expansion of coverage and other steps which can be taken wisely at this time.

Other needs in the area of social welfare include increased child welfare services, extension of the program of aid to dependent children, intensified attack on juvenile delinquency, and special attention to the problems of mentally retarded children. The training of more skilled workers for these fields and the quest for new knowledge through research in social welfare are essential. Similarly the problems of our aged people need our attention.

….

Finally, we must aid in cushioning the heavy and rising costs of illness and hospitalization to individuals and families. Provision should be made, by Federal reinsurance or otherwise, to foster extension of voluntary health insurance coverage to many more persons, especially older persons and those in rural areas. Plans should be evolved to improve protection against the costs of prolonged or severe illness. These measures will help reduce the dollar barrier between many Americans and the benefits of modern medical care. The Administration health program will be submitted to the Congress in detail.

….

We must also carry forward the job of improving the wage-hour law. Last year I requested the Congress to broaden the coverage of the minimum wage.

….

For the housing program, most of the legislative authority already exists. However, a firm program of public housing is essential until the private building industry has found ways to provide more adequate housing for low-income families. The Administration will propose authority to contract for 35 thousand additional public housing units in each of the next 2 fiscal years for communities which will participate in an integrated attack on slums and blight.

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the point is: we have failed as a society to effectively address poverty and income inequality. (the latter, by the way is increasing in scary ways … like the chasm between the upper and middle classes is widening while the space between the lower and middles classes is narrowing.)

but our knowledge was imperfect, and while there is still a lot to learn, social research has come A LONG way since the early 20th century … heck, even since the 80s … we know a lot more about the effects of institutionalized racism … we know even how to identify it … we know about the importance of educational attainment (especially among mothers) for the overall health of the family (ANY family: rich, poor; black, white) …

obama’s rhetoric might imply an extension of existing programs … i don’t know … i still haven’t read it …

but i think if we are really going to be ***progressive*** about attacking poverty, we need to look at the establishment of and investment in universal-benefits programs … i think that tactic is more fruitful than simply saying liberals threw money at a miserably failed program and what we really need is to get back to basic traditions …

oh, and dyre! that is a terrific point you make about lessons learned in the south by migrating blacks. and frankly, i can’t blame them one bit.