This is a book I've been reading on and off (more like thumbing through and reading chunks, it's a bit of an academic slog). This quote has fascinated me:
Lyndon Johnson's economic advisors warned in 1964 that the poverty rate, in the absence of federal action, could be as high as 13 percent by 1980. After sixteen years of multi-billion dollar programs, the poverty rate at the end of that year was--13 percent.
It goes on to say:
Lack of mobility was not caused by lack of opportunity--the dramatic successes of immigrants from Asia and Cuba during [the time period] shows that. Those who adopted the traditional work-hard-and-rise pattern by staying out of the welfare system usually succeeded in rising--but native-born Americans who took advantage of the proffered liberality stayed put. Some welfare recipients even gave up jobs and educational opportunities in order to remain in the poor but secure spot that welfare payments afforded them.
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