Johnson Administration\'s \"Great Society\" Initiatives? Defend Your

¶ … Johnson administration's "Great Society" initiatives? Defend your response.

As for intentions, the Johnson administration's "Great Society" initiatives should be given an A. When he took office, Johnson saw that the country's success following World War II was declining and there was a potential for the country to enter a period of serious decline, a situation which ultimately did come to pass in the 1970s and again in the present period. Programs such as Medicare and Medicaid which were created during this period have continued to benefit Americans fifty years after their initial creation. However, given that much of Johnson's attention was being given to the escalation of the Vietnam War and Johnson's encouragement of American involvement on that front, the actual effectiveness of the "Great Society" initiatives deserves a final grade of B- or C+. He was successful in getting the Civil Rights Act passed and tried to help Americans living in poverty. He also created legislation to help American receive education both in grade school, high school, and in higher education. Despite his attempts to help people in serious need, it is apparent from looking at the present American society that Johnson was not successful. There are still large numbers of Americans who are living in poverty. Education is given to all citizens, but not equally. Communities which are more affluent have better schools, better teachers, betters supplies, and the students who attend those schools have more success when they enter the adult workforce. Those who live in poverty are highly unlikely to enter higher education because there is an impetus to enter the workforce at a younger age. An additional consequence is that these youths tend to have children at a younger age and in greater numbers and their children will also be unlikely to transcend their upbringing. Poverty still begets poverty.

Topic 2: How much faith do you have that Social Security and Medicare will be there when it is your turn to receive these benefits? Explain.

I have very little faith that programs like Social Security and Medicare will still be there when I come to the point where it is my turn to receive these benefits. In every paycheck, parts of my earnings are set aside to provide for the programs described. Allegedly this is so when I reach the age of retirement I will be able to claim these moneys and live off of them until the time of my death. Many analysts believe that the Baby Boom generation which is set to enter the retirement age will bankrupt Social Security because there will be more people drawing on the funds than paying into them. This has been a potential concern for some time, but things have gotten even direr in the period of economic recession of the modern historical period. Despite certain gains, there are still a great number of people in this country who are unemployed or underemployed. They do not pay taxes or pay into Social Security. Instead they draw on other forms of public assistance in order to survive. If this continues then it is possible funds may have to be rerouted from what the government considers to be less essential programs. Already there is discussion about raising the retirement age in order to defer people requesting Social Security payments. Already, Medicare and Medicaid as well as state programs such as Medi-Cal in California are becoming more restricted so that a great number are being turned away and forced to seek private health insurance. Government policies such as Obamacare have limited or withdrawn funds from Medicare. Exponential population growth, particularly in the poorest parts of the country like the city of Detroit which has now filed for bankruptcy, as well as immigration reform which is allowing more people to access these programs makes it all the more unlikely that I will be able to access my share of Social Security or Medicare when the time comes. Instead, it looks like I will have to provide for my own old age through savings and a comprehensive health insurance policy.