For at least a generation, policymakers have been talking about welfare cliffs. Federal and state governments have been waging this war on poverty but with little progress beyond an expansive (and at times, perverse) web of programs and trillions in spending.

Unfortunately, if one was born into this system, the odds are stacked against them on whether they navigate their way out, including when families with working adults are presented with opportunities for financial promotions.

Much of this "cliff effect," whereas a family faces a reduction or complete elimination of welfare benefits upon even a small increase in earnings, spans from the fact that Washington has created a program to fill every void, big or small, in a person’s life: healthcare, food assistance, childcare, utility assistance, housing, education, and employment, to name a few.