Nick Hanauer: Not Slash Poverty Programs
on Saturday, January 9, 2016Nick Hanauer Money Quotation saying reduce government bloat by increasing wages so poverty programs aren’t needed. Nick Hanauer said:
“Let’s by all means shrink the size of government, but not by slashing the poverty programs, but by ensuring that workers are paid enough so that they actually don’t need those programs” — Nick Hanauer
In this quote, Nick Hanauer is arguing against shrinking the size of government primarily by cutting poverty programs and social services. Instead, he believes a better way to reduce the need for such programs is by ensuring that workers are paid enough through their regular wages so that they do not need to rely on government assistance in the first place.
In essence, Hanauer is saying it is preferable to decrease government spending and size indirectly by raising wages for low-income workers, rather than directly slashing existing poverty programs that many currently depend on. This would grow the economy from the middle out by putting more money in the hands of regular consumers.