Greg Kaufmann, Nation - According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities the poverty rate would have been nearly twice as high—just under 30 percent—if not for government assistance programs. That’s 40 million more people who would be in poverty. Six initiatives in the Recovery Act alone prevented nearly 7 million people from falling into poverty. But those provisions are set to expire and many of the programs that are working (or at least minimally working) are now slated for deep cuts at the federal and state levels.
