Conference 

# Can We End Poverty? 

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Date and Time 

March 26, 2015 8:30 AM - 12:45 PM EDT 

Location 

Columbia University 

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##### Featuring 

Featuring **John Allison**, President, Cato Institute; **John McWhorter**, Center for American Studies, Columbia University; **Michael D. Tanner**, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute; **Ron Haskins**, Co-Director, Center on Children and Families, Budgeting for National Priorities Project; **Angela Glover Blackwell**, Founder and CEO, PolicyLink; **Christopher Wimer**, Co-Director, Center on Poverty and Social Policy; **Robert Doar**, Morgridge Fellow in Poverty Studies, American Enterprise Institute; **Jo Kwong**, Director of Economic Opportunity Programs, Philanthropy Roundtable; **Harriet Karr-McDonald**, Executive Vice President, Doe Fund; **Robert Woodson**, Founder and President, Center for Neighborhood Enterprise; **David Beito**, Professor of American History, University of Alabama; and **Ruth Rathblott**, President and Chief Executive Office, Harlem Educational Activities Fund. 

**March 26, 2015, 8:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. 

Columbia University 
Roone Arledge Auditorium 
Alfred Lerner Hall, 2920 Broadway 
New York City**

On January 8, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson delivered a State of the Union address to Congress in which he declared an “unconditional war on poverty in America.” Johnson’s goal was not only to “relieve the symptom of poverty, but to cure it and, above all, to prevent it.” Since then, federal and state governments have spent more than $19 trillion fighting poverty. But what has really been accomplished with all of that funding?

This special half-day conference brings together a wide range of experts from across the political spectrum to discuss whether the War on Poverty succeeded in reducing poverty in the United States, what remains to be done, and whether private charitable efforts would be a better alternative to government welfare programs.

| **8:00 a.m. — 8:30 a.m.** | **Registration** |
|:--|:--|
| **8:30 a.m. — 8:45 a.m.** | **Welcome Address** [**John Allison**](https://www.cato.org/people/john-allison) President, Cato Institute |
| **8:45 a.m. — 9:30 a.m.** | **Keynote Address** [Download a video of the Welcoming Remarks/​Keynote Address](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cc-03-26-15-01.mp4) [Download podcast of the Welcoming Remarks/​Keynote Address](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cca-03-26-15-01.mp3) [Download podcast of the entire event](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cca-03-26-15-full.mp3) **John McWhorter** Center for American Studies, Columbia University |
| **9:30 a.m. — 10:45 a.m.** | **PANEL 1: 50 Years of the War on Poverty: Success, Failure, Incomplete?** [Download a video of Panel 1](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cc-03-26-15-02.mp4) [Download podcast of Panel 1](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cca-03-26-15-02.mp3) **Moderator: Ron Haskins** Co-Director, Center on Children and Families and Budgeting for National Priorities Project, Brookings Institution [**Michael Tanner**](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-tanner) Senior Fellow, Cato Institute **Angela Glover Blackwell** Founder and CEO, PolicyLink **Christopher Wimer** Co-Director, Center on Poverty and Social Policy, School of Social Work, Columbia University **Robert Doar** Morgridge Fellow in Poverty Studies, American Enterprise Institute |
| **10:45 a.m. — 11:00 a.m.** | **Break** |
| **11:00 a.m. — 12:15 p.m.** | **PANEL 2: Private Alternatives to Government Welfare** [Download a video of Panel 2](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cc-03-26-15-03.mp4) [Download podcast of Panel 2](https://cdn.cato.org/archive-2015/cca-03-26-15-03.mp3) **Moderator: Jo Kwong** Director of Economic Opportunity Programs, Philanthropy Roundtable **Harriet Karr-McDonald** Executive Vice President, Doe Fund **Robert Woodson** Founder and President, Center for Neighborhood Enterprise **David Beito** Professor of American History, University of Alabama **Ruth Rathblott** President and Chief Executive Officer, Harlem Educational Activities Fund |

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