Title: Opinion | Why Can’t We End Poverty in America? - The New York Times
Headings: Poverty in America: Why Can’t We End It?
Opinion
Opinion
Poverty in America: Why Can’t We End It?

Content: The first thing needed if we’re to get people out of poverty is more jobs that pay decent wages. There aren’t enough of these in our current economy. The need for good jobs extends far beyond the current crisis; we’ll need a full-employment policy and a bigger investment in 21st-century education and skill development strategies if we’re to have any hope of breaking out of the current economic malaise. This isn’t a problem specific to the current moment. We’ve been drowning in a flood of low-wage jobs for the last 40 years. Most of the income of people in poverty comes from work. According to the most recent data available from the Census Bureau, 104 million people — a third of the population — have annual incomes below twice the poverty line, less than $38,000 for a family of three. They struggle to make ends meet every month. Half the jobs in the nation pay less than $34,000 a year, according to the Economic Policy Institute.