Boston Gal's Open Wallet

Massachusetts raised its minimum wage last week and for Felicita Rivera that inspires a simple hope: that she'll be able to keep her head above water financially.
For the past seven years, her pay at the small manufacturing plant where she works was stuck at the state minimum of $6.75 an hour, she says. The new state floor of $7.50 an hour means an extra $100 or so each month. But for Mrs. Rivera it's more about trying to stay even than trying to get ahead. The rent on her apartment is set to rise in February, also by $100 a month.

A broader array of policies would be needed to reduce poverty in the US, economists say. Dr. Sawhill of Brookings says these include a higher earned-income tax credit, child-care assistance for working parents, and programs to encourage marriage and discourage teen pregnancy.

Promoting more work hours is a major piece of the puzzle.

"If the heads of poor households worked as much as the heads of nonpoor households, it would have quite a dramatic effect," probably a 40 percent reduction in poverty, she says.