I have a new policy study just out today from the Mercatus Center titled “Breaking Down the Barriers: Three Ways State and Local Governments Can Improve the Lives of the Poor.” The following provides a convenient summary of the argument:

Many discussions of poverty and inequality are bogged down in debates about tax rates and government spending, trapped under the assumption that the cause of some people’s poverty is other people’s wealth. One key factor preventing upward mobility is state and local regulations that make it more expensive and time-consuming for the poor to open new businesses or enter a new profession. By eliminating burdensome business regulations such as occupational licensing and zoning restrictions and by refraining from imposing sin taxes, policymakers can let the poor help themselves move up and out of poverty.

It is very much an argument that readers of this blog might wish to engage.