It is unfortunate there is no agency, public or private, that monitors and educates the public on the effectiveness of government programs.

The war on poverty never will be won, though it is a continuing battle to be fought because there always will be some poorer than most. The governmental undertaking attributed to the late President Lyndon Johnson is doomed to failure because it encourages the procreation of people who cannot provide for themselves.

Our long-heralded war on drugs is likewise doomed to failure as long as we refuse to do the one thing that would be most effective: Take the profit out of drug dealing. Until we do, we will continue to have wave after wave of people flooding prisons because they could not resist the temptation of easy money, especially when this seemed to be the only prospect of getting it for many people.

[continues 85 words]