Policies that Actually Promote Self-Sufficiency

The Boston Globe ran an editorial yesterday chiding the state for policies that deny the working poor real opportunities to move off public assistance.  Published to coincide with the release of a new report by the Massachusetts Asset Development Commission, the editorial highlighted the reality that almost 50% of state residents are considered asset-poor - i.e., they have less than 3 months worth of financial security should they lose a job or income stream.  Despite this, many poverty programs in Mass - and nationwide - penalize recipients if they earn beyond an arbitrary baseline amount, spend money on things like education, or own a car worth more than a certain value.  The Commission's report identifies this as the "cliff effect"

"whereby working people reach a wage threshold and are precipitously cut off from benefits. These people are working hard at difficult jobs; they shouldn’t have to choose between reaching for a better life and losing support programs that make working possible."

Seriously - isn't this common sense?

If we want our fellow Americans "off the dole," as my dad would say, why aren't we equipping them with the opportunities and tools to do so?  In Massachusetts, with budget cuts, we've actually made it harder than ever for low-income residents to do this.  In California, in contrast, the House recently passed a bill that lifts many of the asset and savings maximums for households on public assistance - allowing poor families to save and accumulate more, and saving the state about $3M in admin costs in the process.

As mentioned earlier this week, matched savings programs are a major, I'd say permanent, trend in our 21st century anti-poverty policy.  We want low-income Americans banked and we want them building assets like their middle-class counterparts.  What can we say, we're a consumerist, market-oriented culture.  But our government programs need to embrace and keep up with this reality, and we need to make these programs more viable and rewarding over the long-term.  We've only ourselves to blame for others' poverty if we fail to support these programs.

(Photo of old WPA adult ed program by The New Ruffian)