Article: Progress on Poverty, but Immediate and Long-Term Problems Remain

Posted by Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity on September 22, 2020

To mark the release of the 2019 income, poverty, and health insurance coverage data from the U.S. Census Bureau, Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity invited reactions and analysis from across the ideological and policy spectrum.

Scott Winship, a resident scholar and director of poverty studies at the American Enterprise Institute, points to the decline in the 2019 child poverty rate as one of the most important indicators in the new poverty data. Reflecting on 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, Winship describes how the passing of the CARES Act at the beginning of the crisis initially bolstered the safety net, preventing poverty and hardship from drastically increasing. However, Winship warns that the poverty rate has begun to increase in July and August and that policymakers must consider policies that can support Americans in the long term.

Read more: https://spotlightonpoverty.org/spotlight-exclusives/progress-on-poverty-but-immediate-and-long-term-problems-remain/