50 years ago-
War on Poverty birthday-success or failure?
brief bit from article, rather interesting that the two parent family seems to be the main factor in lifting a family out of poverty because of the freedom of time it gives to address poverty
" government policies have been more effective at helping families escape poverty than we think. Indeed, one study found the growth of government benefits since 1967 has cut an alternative measure of poverty by 40 percent. But it’s more precise to say that Washington has been effective at helping working, two-parent families escape from poverty. The problem is that there are fewer people working and fewer two-parent families. Both the great recession and the surge of single-family households have made it harder for people, today, to work full-time. And families cobbling together a life from part-time gigs, or unemployment, are much more likely to dip into poverty."
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-war-on-poverty-turns-50-why-arent-we-winning/282832/