Some Thoughts on How to Address the Poverty Issue in This Country

There are many steps that can be taken to cure the ills of poverty. Some of them that quickly come to mind are:

Raising the minimum wage and at the very least keep raises in the minimum wage tied to inflation. (even though that number is usually wrong) The US minimum wage hasn't been raised in over a decade and even then it wasn't keeping up with inflation. Our goal shouldn't be to push people to minimum wage jobs but for those that need them they should be able to reasonably live on such a wage. There is little incentive for someone to drive to work if it costs more in gas to get to work than you make in wages when you get there.

Something like "work-centric (bank?) accounts" could be created that match the savings of low-income families THAT ARE WORKING. Folks on Welfare would lose so much in benefits by TRYING to work that there is no incentive to try. For instance taking a minimum wage job and losing all your health benefits when you have children is dangerous for the kids and in the end a foolish decision. And that shouldn't be the case. Incentive to work and not punishing those that do is essential.

Government funding could be provided to high school graduates for college tuition and books as long as the students agree to work while in college. Many that make it to college are on a work program already. A government matching of their salaries or even a FICA and/or tax exemption would help these kids tremendously and would reap benefits for the society as a whole down the road. Sure these are tax cuts, but they are tax cuts that HELP the poor and the lower middle class, NOT the rich...who don't "need" the money.

Education, incentivizing people to work, and making a culture of work ethic will put this country on the right track again. The fact is poverty has gotten worse EVERY YEAR of the Bush presidency because education is becoming less affordable, there is less incentive to work, wages have stagnated/dropped, and more people have been given less an incentive to work.