Explore the paradox of welfare programs, and learn how they inadvertently reinforce generational poverty, and what we can do to fix them. -- Imagine that you’ve been unemployed for months. Government benefit programs have helped you cover your expenses, but you’re barely getting by. Finally, you receive a paycheck— but there’s a catch. Your new job pays enough to disqualify you from benefit programs, but not enough to cover your costs. So how do we design benefit programs that don’t penalize you for working? Ann-Helén Bay investigates. Lesson by Ann-Helén Bay, directed by Avi Ofer. Support Our Non-Profit Mission ---------------------------------------------- Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon Check out our merch: http://bit.ly/TEDEDShop ---------------------------------------------- Connect With Us ---------------------------------------------- Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram ---------------------------------------------- Keep Learning ---------------------------------------------- View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-is-it-so-hard-to-escape-poverty-ann-helen-bay Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-is-it-so-hard-to-escape-poverty-ann-helen-bay#digdeeper Animator's website: https://aviofer.com/ ---------------------------------------------- Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Sid, Kent Logan, Alexandra Panzer, John Hellmann, Poompak Meephian, Chuck Wofford, Daniel Erickson, frank goto, Jayson Hauschild, J D Wallace, Marq Short, Chen Jun Xiang, Adam Pagan, Paul Schultz, Behzad Farhanieh, Anders Sørheim, Wes Winn, Conder Shou, BrushReads, Matt Kennedy, Jonah Dobbs, ntiger, Noname, Hansan Hu, Cameron Burkle, Dhanwanth Varadhan, David D, Zuko Gameplays, Jonathan Bates JBZ, Aria Smith, Mac Hyney, Keith Ellison, robin valero walters, Camehira, Lynne Truesdale, Gatsby Dkdc, Matthew Neal, Jayson Gasper Ayson, Maxwell Ramsby, Dmitry Yuryev, Denis Chon, Julian Oberhofer, Monte Carroll, Eddy, Jay M, Constantino Victor Delgado, Andrea Galvagni, Andrew Tweddle, Laurel-Ann Rice and Fernando A. Endo.