Johnson’s “War on Poverty” three decades later. In 1964, in the annual message to the Congress on the State of the Union, President Johnson declared that “no society could be great with poverty in its midst” (Johnson, 1964). Johnson implemented social programs designed to eliminate poverty by moving people up the social ladder through vocational education and job training. He also promoted programs, such as food stamps, Medicare, and Medicaid, to help poor and older Americans get enough food and adequate health care. Johnson called his plan the “Great Society.”President Richard Nixon advanced many of the New Deal and Great Society programs by establishing the Supplemental Security Income program and expanding the food stamp program. Alice Rivilin wrote,” President Nixon was attracted to revenue sharing which fit well with his new federalism philosophy of increasing state autonomy” (Rivilin, 1992,p.100). Revenue sharing was popular with state and local officials. It provided financial support and made no burdensome demands. It was not as popular with members of Congress who preferred more control over how federal funds were used. In the words of political scientist Timothy Conlan, “Nixon participated in the greatest expansion of federal regulation of state and local governments in American history” (Conlan,1988,p.90).In his first inaugural address in 1981, President Ronald Reagan vowed, “to curb the size and influence of the federal establishment because the federal government is not part of the solution, but part of the problem” (Reagan, 1981). Aiming to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, President Reagan promised to balance the budget by scaling back programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Although the Democratic-controlled Congress went along with some of President Reagan’s proposals, it would not cut Socia...
