tackle poverty, the better the result. Much of the government's attempts to tackle poverty over the last half century, start with a suffering adult and try to tilt the playing field in favor of the suffering adult (or, in the case of affirmative action for college admission, a young adult who has suffered from poverty). These policy prescriptions and their proponents are violently opposed to the reality that the biological two parent, married family situation is the best situation to reduce poverty and provide stability. We're so afraid of hurting feelings that we can't even talk about the ideal in public policy.

Instead we continually pull off fractions of the leaves of the poverty problem while leaving the roots completely free to thrive, grow and produce more leaves and a stronger stalk.