We have a strong safety net. Why doesn’t it always work? Why doesn’t it keep everyone out of poverty?
If we just spend enough money and make the safety net big enough, will that end poverty? Or will people make decisions that keep them in poverty no mater how much money we spend on the safety net?
Is there a magic bullet or recipe that can help someone escape poverty? Turns out: there is. Economic researchers who study poverty have found 3 choices people make that almost entirely determine whether they escape poverty or remain in poverty.
The good news for those in poverty is that the power to improve their lives is entirely in their hands.
The bad news for those in poverty is that the power to improve their lives is entirely and only in their hands.
This gets right to the heart of the discussion about the solution to poverty, and whether “taxing the wealthy a little bit more” as Jamie Dimon says is actually the cure.
Symposium 