The answer to poverty lies in the govt doing less, not more.

Govt, fundamentally, produces nothing. It simply uses force of arms to redistribute productivity. In some cases this is necessary, as money and goods are needed to form a common defense and providing a common infrastructure seems to have worked out pretty well.

To much meddling though, and govt starts unduly interfering with the lives and commerce of those who produce. It is self-evident that a society with abundance of productivity affords greater opportunity to those in poverty to find a way out of poverty. Where productivity is scarce, there is stiffer competition for resources ergo the opportunities to escape poverty are smaller.

For who could be free when every other man's humour might domineer over him? - John Locke (2nd Treatise, sect 57)