Before we can solve a problem, we must understand it. As more Americans are born into poverty and struggle to escape it, the need to understand why becomes increasingly important.
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A new report from the AEI-Brookings Working Group on Poverty and Opportunity begins by doing just that. In its first chapter, the report provides an unbiased, thorough review of how trends in family composition, employment, wages, and education affect poverty and economic mobility.
Take, for example, how an increase in households headed by single mothers has resulted in more children born into poverty:
Together, the facts in this chapter paint a portrait of the conditions that account for the extent of poverty and the state of opportunity in America. They also serve as the basis of the Working Group’s final recommendations for reducing poverty and restoring the American Dream.
