Source: Economist
A new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research examined data on families who are benefiting from government welfare programs. One of its primary discoveries was that few families who are living below the poverty line are actually receiving these benefits.
Researchers found that this is largely a result of policy changes and concluded that this may have the deepest long-term impact on some of the nation’s most impoverished children.
Studies have shown that government assistance programs can help lift children out of poverty and help them healthier and more successful in the future.
Meanwhile, the U.S. spends less than 3 percent on programs from children, while spending more than 9 percent on older populations, according to the study.
The U.S. has been identified as one of the nations that spends the least on its population of children, with only two other countries ranked below it out of a total of 35 countries for which the data is available.
Read Full Story: Economist