Tevi Troy writes for SpotlightOnPoverty.org that the congressional “supercommittee” searching for budget savings should have focused some attention on rethinking the federal approach to poverty.
The U.S. deserves credit for the improvement in reducing poverty for some vulnerable populations, such as the elderly. But the reshaping of the demographics of poverty should lead to a corresponding shift in our anti-poverty strategy. Addressing poverty among children, working age adults, and people of color requires a different approach than the transfer payment heavy focus of the last 40 years.
Fortunately, there is an anti-poverty formula that will help, one that is laid out in the important book, Creating an Opportunity Society, by [Ron] Haskins and his colleague Isabelle Sawhill. They describe a three-fold approach: (1) finish high school, (2) work full-time, and (3) marry before having kids. According to their calculations, doing all three of these things reduces the odds of being poor by six-fold, from 12 to two percent, and increases the odds of joining the middle class, from 56 to 74 percent.
If the super committee wants to save money and put a real dent in poverty, it should look at demographic trends to reapportion our existing spending on poverty. Focusing on these data would direct the committee to focus on interventions to improve high school completion, encourage work, and promote marriage before parenthood.
