Federal Programs Lift Millions of Families from Communities of Color Out of Poverty
For more than 50 years, anti-poverty programs have helped ensure that working families are lifted out of poverty when times are tough or their wages are too low for them to be able to make ends meet. These programs are collectively known as the “social safety net” and are at risk. The Republican budget proposal for FY 2018 already calls for drastically reduced funding to many essential programs to fund $1.4 trillion in tax breaks for corporations and the extremely wealthy on the backs of the most vulnerable members of our communities. Cuts to these programs would have a significant effect on our nation’s communities of color, millions of whom struggle to make ends meet. Using data from the U.S. Census Supplemental Poverty Measure, this fact sheet provides evidence of the strong anti-poverty effect of selected supports, including the number or share of individuals participating and lifted out of poverty.