Government and the Cost of Living
3,645 views · Published 4 September 2018 · 2:55 · Indexed 29 September 2026
Channel: The Cato Institute · 2018 · News & Politics
Federal, state, and local governments seek to assist poor households financially using transfers, minimum wage laws, and subsidies for important goods and services. This “income-based” approach to alleviating poverty aims both to raise household incomes directly and to shift the cost of items, such as food, housing, or health care, to taxpayers. A “cost-based” approach would instead reform existing government interventions that raise living costs for the poor. A new paper from Cato scholar Ryan Bourne argues that pro-market reforms in these areas could significantly reduce living costs for the poor, while also improving labor mobility and job matching. Policy Analysis: https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/government-cost-living-income-based-vs-cost-based-approaches
