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n A transitional jobs program was tested with different assumptions about how many people would take a transitional job and what the wage would be .
n Various options for earnings supplements were tested, including changes to the existing state and city Earned Income Tax Credits (“EITCs”) as well as full implementation of the Paycheck Plus program currently piloted in New York City .
n A higher minimum wage was tested up to $15 per hour .
n Increased benefits from the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (“SNAP,” also known as food stamps) were tested, specifically the impact of increasing SNAP benefits by 31 percent .
n More housing vouchers were tested with increases equal to one-quarter or one-half of the current waiting list for public or subsidized housing .
n Guaranteed child care subsidies were tested, assuming that a subsidy would be provided to any family eligible under the current rules who wanted it .
n A tax credit for senior citizens and persons with disabilities was tested as a new program bringing seniors and people with disabilities up to a poverty-level income .
What we discovered is just how much return on investment there can be with targeted, combined policies . By funding a package of policies aimed at providing job training, economic security, and support for working families, our research found reductions in poverty by more than two-thirds . That’s over 1 .2 million New Yorkers lifted out of poverty . These reductions were seen in all age subgroups of New York City’s population, with poverty rates reduced by as much as 72 percent for children and 85 percent for seniors .15
The outcomes of this research demonstrate that a targeted government investment in a set of coordinated policies can have a profound effect on people of all ages in New York City . The individual policies examined, as simulated, hold the potential to reduce poverty significantly . Three policies that demonstrate an especially strong impact are the transitional jobs program, the minimum wage increase, and the senior and disability tax credit, each having the potential to reduce poverty by 16 to 26 percent .16 “Combining them multiplies their impact: each policy combination that was tested shows reductions in poverty even more significantly, ranging from 44 to 69 percent .”17
The impact that can be achieved through a targeted investment is clear . These policies support a connection to work, aiming to make work pay, and providing for those who cannot enter the workforce . 18
We know what’s needed: Targeted and combined policies and programs that help individuals and families to sustainably improve and grow their income . Policies and programs that strengthen children and families . Policies and programs that strengthen communities . Equal opportunity in New York City will be achieved only if policies and programs that promote and sustain the
15 Id. Appendix D, Table D2: Poverty Rate and Numbers in Poverty.
16 Id. Appendix D, Table D1: Summary.
17 Id. at VII.
18 Id.
Impact: Collected Essays on the Threat of Economic Inequality