BOOMTOWN 2: Taxpayers Have Spent $15 Trillion on 'War on Poverty'

Study seems to suggest that the only result of the thirty-plus-year "War on Poverty" is increased dependency and lower productivity.

Since President Lyndon Baines Johnson declared “war on poverty,” U.S. taxpayers have spent $15 trillion on so-called anti-poverty programs—a figure slightly less than the national debt. [...]

In 1969, just 2.8 million Americans received food stamps. Today, over 47 million Americans are on food stamps. The Fox News special explained that one contributing factor to the massive expansion of the food stamp program is the crony capitalism that has cropped up around the anti-poverty program. [...]

In Florida, State Senator Ronda Storms (R-Valrico) introduced a bill last year that would keep taxpayer-funded SNAP benefits from being spent on non-essential items like sodas, candy, chips, ice cream, and other junk foods.

“The biggest opponents I have right now are Coca Cola, the soda companies, the chip companies and the convenience store operators,” said Storms in an interview with Fox News.

State Representative John Wood (R-Winter Haven) said Storms’ provision was a step in the right direction.

“We are talking about a government benefit,” said Wood. “And therefore, in my mind, we can restrict how that benefit is utilized.”
More Here: http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/05/BOOMTOWN-2-Taxpayers-Have-Spent-15-Trillion-On-The-War-on-Poverty