Pres. Johnson's State of the Union speeches: on Welfare & Poverty

War on poverty will not be a short or easy struggle

This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America. It will not be a short or easy struggle, no single weapon or strategy will suffice, but we shall not rest until that war is won. The richest Nation on earth can afford to win it. We cannot afford to lose it. $1,000 invested in salvaging an unemployable youth today can return $40,000 or more in his lifetime.

Poverty is a national problem, requiring improved national organization and support. But this attack, to be effective, must also be organized at the State & local level and must be supported and directed by State & local efforts.

The program will emphasize this cooperative approach to help that 1/5 of all American families with incomes too small to even meet their basic needs.

National Service Corps as a domestic Peace Corps

• We will launch a special effort in the chronically distressed areas of Appalachia.
• We must expand our small but our successful area redevelopment program.
• We must enact youth employment legislation to put jobless, aimless, hopeless youngsters to work on useful projects.
• We must distribute more food to the needy through a broader food stamp program.
• We must create a National Service Corps to help the economically handicapped of our own country as the Peace Corps now helps those abroad.
• We must modernize our unemployment insurance and establish a high-level commission on automation.
• We must extend the coverage of our minimum wage laws to more than 2 million workers now lacking this basic protection of purchasing power.

Three paths of Great Society: growth, justice and liberation

• First is growth--the national prosperity which supports the well-being of our people and which provides the tools of our progress. Workers are making more money than ever--with after-tax income in the past 5 years up 33%. More people are working than ever before in our history--an increase last year of 2 1/2 million jobs.
• The second road is justice. Justice means a man's hope should not be limited by the color of his skin. I propose legislation to establish unavoidable requirements for nondiscriminatory jury selection--and to give the Attorney General the power necessary to enforce those requirements.
• The third path is the path of liberation. It is to use our success for the fulfillment of our lives. A great nation is one which breeds a great people. A great people flower not from wealth and power, but from a society which spurs them to the fullness of their genius. That alone is a Great Society.

Urban Development Bank; build 500,000 homes for needy

To achieve the goals of the Housing Act of 1968 that you have already passed, we should begin this year more than 500,000 homes for needy families in the coming fiscal year. Funds are provided in the new budget to do just this. This is almost 10 times--10 times--the average rate of the past 10 years.

Our cities and our towns are being pressed for funds to meet the needs of their growing populations. So I believe an urban development bank should be created by the Congress. This bank could obtain resources through the issuance of taxable bonds and it could then lend these resources at reduced rates to the communities throughout the land for schools, hospitals, parks, and other public facilities.