Pondering poverty

Dane Stangler posts this graph and notes:

The major explanation for poverty's fall is one [lefty blogger Matthew] Yglesias and others acknowledge: economic expansion. This doesn't mean the War on Poverty had no effect: the steep drop in the late 1960s clearly indicates that it did. But there were other trends at the time that also factored in, namely, the civil rights movement and the gradual increase of full economic participation.

Indeed, looking at the graph you can easily pick out economic phenomenon such as the 1980, 1991 and 2001 recessions, along with growth periods in the 1980s and 1990s. When times are good poverty declines and during downturns the rate rises.

If we want to help the poor it logically follows that public policy should focus on measures that promote economic growth. Unfortunately the path we are on of increased regulation and more government involvement are proven retardants to prosperity.