Chapter Eleven - The War on the Poor

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The War on the Poor

HE DIDN’T SAY he hated the poor.
He just made them disappear.

Not overnight.
Not all at once.

But by slicing, mocking, defunding, and blaming until poverty itself looked like a choice.

And if you were still struggling?

You were either lazy, addicted, or lying.

Reagan slashed food stamps, public housing, Medicaid, job programs, and mental health funding.

Entire communities fell through the cracks he’d carved into the budget.

Meanwhile, he increased military spending by billions and cut taxes for millionaires.

The hungry paid for the bombs.

Reagan told a story.
About a woman in Chicago.
Driving a Cadillac.
Collecting dozens of welfare checks under fake names.

He never named her.
He never proved it.

But the phrase stuck:
“Welfare Queen.”

Suddenly, poverty wasn’t a policy failure.
It was a personality flaw.

And Americans who were angry, confused, and slipping into debt themselves turned their rage on the poor instead of the system.

Homelessness surged.
Tents bloomed on sidewalks.
Shelters overflowed.

Reagan responded with “faith-based initiatives.”
With speeches about bootstraps.
With photo ops. Never in a soup kitchen, always on a ranch.

Every cut came with a reason.

The system’s being abused.
People are taking advantage.
We need to restore dignity.
We can’t afford handouts.

Never mind that corporate welfare soared.
Never mind that defense contractors got rich.
Never mind that the richest Americans paid less taxes than their secretaries.

The poor were painted as parasites.
And the man holding the brush did it with perfect, practiced charm.