Former President Lyndon B. Johnson once said, “We must open the doors of opportunity. But we also need to equip our people to walk through those doors. And it was with this idea in mind that Johnson waged a war on poverty in the United States of America. This so-called War on Poverty, which was only part of his larger social reform movement known as the Great Society, was a perpetual war against suffering. And this suffering was, according to Michael Harrington in his book The Other America, virtually invisible to the American people. Johnson, who was against the welfare state, made it clear that he did not want to give handouts and did not want to redistribute income (Davies). Johnson only wanted to provide an opportunity to a deserving poor person (Levinson). And he was relatively successful. Johnson's War on Poverty was successful in reducing poverty rates in the United States and, more significantly, improving the standard of living for millions of Americans. To fight his war, Johnson's first priority was to stimulate the economy, and he achieved this through cutting taxes. Law passed. In 1964 and 1965, this legislature provided over ten billion dollars in aid which subsequently enabled a massive expansion of the economy (Germany). Johnson's second priority was to create a task force that would organize and engage in the real battle against poverty. From there was born the Economic Opportunity Act (“Economic Opportunity Act of 1964”). The Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) was vital in Johnson's fight against poverty (Germany). Through and under the control of the Office of Economic Opportunity, the Economic Opportunity Act constituted a wide range of social programs intended to address the problem of poverty. JobCorps was created to provide work,...... middle of paper...... Nation. National Public Radio. January 7, 2004. Digital file (podcast). “Legislative History: Vote Tallies for Passage of Medicare in 1965.” Social Security Online, socialsecurity.gov. nd October 17, 2009. Web. “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.” » Frequently asked questions. Food and Nutrition Service, United States Department of Agriculture, fns.usda.gov, nd October 18, 2009. Web.United States. Department of Health and Human Services; Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation Administration for Children and Families. “Head Start Impact Study: Findings from the first year.” » Rockville, MD: Westat. 2005. PDF file. UNITED STATES. United States Census Bureau, United States Department of Commerce. Administration of economics and statistics. “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005.” Washington: GPO, 2006. PDF file.