with trillions of tax dollars diverted to combat and post officeerty, one would think the post officeertyels would fall. the opposite is handing. the american poverty exploded to 15.9%. the highest in nearly half a century. there is more. the dream of a suburban house with a white picket fence given way to fastest sector of the poverty. the sad but true reality the new face of poverty is next door. as spending on poverty goes up, the more it is spreading. jonathan, break it down. why are we spending so much more and post ficeerty continues to rise? >> the poverty level was dropping and fell by half in '60s when johnson began a war on poverty. since then it's $16 trillion on the war on poverty. more tan we spent on the military wars in history. the net result is the higher poverty levels. the safety net is destructive. i creates two classes. victim, taxpayers people and pair sites recipients of the welfare. it doesn't help the prospects either. >> eric: stark, can we point finger at the higher spending as the cause of higher poverty >> it's not just the spending alone. what happens is it r

our focus is no longer on policies that lift people out of post officeerty.s libe it's based to make people feel more comfortable. >> ebony, in 35 states, if you are on welfare, you will make more money. in 13 states you make more than $15 an hour. it's out of control. >> the program are supposed to be incentive base. as michelle says be short-term. you have to help people transitioning to better their position in life. but people are taking great advantage of the program. it hurts the recipients at the end. >> eric: should the obama administration pull back on this? some people say it would be unfair or not good policy. at some point, don't you have to make it harder to get some of the benefits? >> completely. you have $5 billion people receiving food stamps. many are in need. there are children that need the working poor. we have to talk about the fraud ineligibility requirement. there should be a standard there. there should be oversight with the work requirement involved with the programs as well. >> eric: right, right, right. wayne, when it's so much bet