To the extent that poverty could be addressed by public policy, there is this big honking problem: For the most part, neither party sees political advantage in really trying to make that happen. Democrats benefit when poverty persists and their political allies in the poverty industry enjoy the steady flow of public funds, especially as low-income voters continue to embrace the illusion that voting for Democrats is in their best interests. Republicans figure there is not much point because venturing into the inner city would eat up lots of time and resources and bring you little reward.
