From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half
Campaigns to Reduce Poverty Add commentsFrom Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half
The Center for American Progress convened a diverse group of national experts and leaders to examine the causes and consequences of poverty in America and make recommendations for national action. In this report, the Task Force on Poverty calls for a national goal of cutting poverty in half in the next 10 years and proposes a strategy to reach the goal.
Go to Half in Ten: The Campaign to Cut Poverty in Half in Ten Years for further information.
Excerpts from the Executive Summary:
Thirty-seven million Americans live below the official poverty line. Millions more struggle each month to pay for basic necessities, or run out of savings when they lose their jobs or face health emergencies. Poverty imposes enormous costs on society. The lost potential of children raised in poor households, the lower productivity and earnings of poor adults, the poor health, increased crime, and broken neighborhoods all hurt our nation. Persistent childhood poverty is estimated to cost our nation $500 billion each year, or about 4 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. In a world of increasing global competition, we cannot afford to squander these human resources.
The Center for American Progress last year convened a diverse group of national experts and leaders to examine the causes and consequences of poverty in America and make recommendations for national action. In this report, our Task Force on Poverty calls for a national goal of cutting poverty in half in the next 10 years and proposes a strategy to reach the goal.
Consider the following facts:
- One in eight Americans now lives in poverty.
- Millions of Americans will spend at least one year in poverty at some point in their lives.
- Poverty in the United States is far higher than in many other developed nations.
- Inequality has reached record highs.
The United States should set a national goal of cutting poverty in half over the next 10 years. A strategy to cut poverty in half should be guided by four principles:
1 - Promote Decent Work.
2 - Provide Opportunity for All.
3 - Ensure Economic Security.
4 - Help People Build Wealth.
We recommend 12 key steps to cut poverty in half:
1 - Raise and index the minimum wage to half the average hourly wage.
2 - Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
3 - Promote unionization by enacting the Employee Free Choice Act.
4 - Guarantee child care assistance to low-income families and promote early education for all.
5 - Create two million new “opportunity” housing vouchers, and promote equitable development in and around central cities.
6 - Connect disadvantaged and disconnected youth with school and work.
7 - Simplify and expand Pell Grants and make higher education accessible to residents of each state.
8 - Help former prisoners find stable employment and reintegrate into their communities.
9 - Ensure equity for low-wage workers in the Unemployment Insurance system.
10 - Modernize means-tested benefits programs to develop a coordinated system that helps workers and families.
11 - Reduce the high costs of being poor and increase access to financial services.
12 - Expand and simplify the Saver’s Credit to encourage saving for education, homeownership and retirement.
We believe our recommendations will cut poverty in half.
- Taken together, our minimum wage, EITC, child credit, and child care recommendations would reduce poverty by 26 percent.
- The racial poverty gap would be narrowed.
- Child poverty and extreme poverty would both fall.
- Millions of low- and moderate-income families would benefit.
