Ss310 unit 8

Section/# Q1) With respect to Johnson’s Great Society, it is the belief of this that although the idea surrounding the idea was highly well-intentioned and motivated by deep disparities that were exhibited during the time, the overall effect of its implementation has been mixed. Naturally, seeking to retroactively judge a program such as this presents a litany of problems – not the least of which is the fact that proving what might have happened had the program not been put in place is all but impossible.
Firstly, for purposes of analysis, the programs that grew out of the Great Society initiative can most succinctly be concentrated to those dealing with poverty and the level of racial equality within the United States. As such, it is without a doubt that the level of racial equality since Johnson’s time has improved greatly. This of course does not mean that ours is a society without any racial conflict; however, great strides have been made to include the use and application of affirmative and a host of others.
With respect to poverty and its representation within the American society, the same cannot be said. If one measures the overall level of poverty that existed during the Johnson administration as compared to the overall level of poverty for each proceeding decade, the trend is saddening. This is due to a host of economic factors and cannot ultimately be attributed to the government’s failure or success in implementation of the Great Society; however, it is indicative of the level of success that such a program has experienced.
As such, it is the opinion of this student that taken as an aggregate, the overall success of the Great Society would be a solid C to C-. This is due to the fact that although great strides have been made with regards to racial equality as a function of government programs, directives, and legislation, the level of poverty itself has not shrunk and in many ways has grown to encompass an even larger segment of American society.
Q2)
With regards to the level of faith that this student has with regards to whether Social Security and/or Medicaid will be available during my entire lifetime, the answer to this question is that I have little if any faith that these programs will be there for the entirety of my life. The reason for this is the level of short-sightedness with which successive Congresses and presidents have dealt with this issue. Moreover, as each successive administration promises to ensure that these programs continue to exist well into the future, the fact of the matter is that these funds are incessantly borrowed from without the loans being repaid by the government.
Similarly, many statisticians and mathematicians have noted that the programs have a determinate ending point at which the resources will be exhausted and the level of tax revenues that are incoming into these will no longer be sufficient to continue the services that the charter of both of these safety nets make certain to the citizen/taxpayer. Yet another problem with these programs is the fact that individuals are retiring at the same age as they always have, yet living longer and longer with the advancement of technology. This is an issue due to the fact that the number of payees that fund the system as compared to the number of drawers who depend on the services that these programs provide has been substantially reduced as of late. This ultimately means that in Social Security’s case, overall benefits for the Social Security Trust Fund will be exhausted by 2033 (Hungerford 2006).
Reference
Hungerford, T. (2006). A Better Way to Invest the Social Security Trust Fund. Challenge (05775132), 49(3), 90-104.