To Cut Down Poverty, Cut Down the Cost of Living
I think the idea of focusing on reductions in expenses is the right thinking. I am not sure disguising it as increasing social welfare is the answer.
I have been teaching all of my children, and ranting about it online occasionally, that a lot of younger people are financially illiterate, including so-called smart or tech people. I was taught live within your means. I grew up below the poverty line in a crime-ridden neighborhood in Brooklyn in the late 60s, early 70s, and now I am living in the impoverished rice fields of East Java, Indonesia by choice. 
My son bought his own first used car by shoveling driveways, tutoring, working for a tree company all the while maintaining an A+ average at school.
Financial literacy is not just being able to balance a checkbook. It is about being able to keep a 3 month to a full year of cash flow right in front of you, whether on a piece of paper or a spreadsheet.
And don&#x27;t tell me it is unrealistic. I did this when I had nothing. I recieved a shoeshine stand and kit when I was eight, and did newspaper routes, sweeping floors for supermarkets part time and a bunch of other fun jobs. Yes, they were fun for me. I smiled and whistled while I did them. I didn&#x27;t see them as holdovers until I could be a real scientist or write my novel or make my art. Rather I saw them as another day towards buying that telescope on a fire sale at the local hobby store, or a book I really wanted to own, not borrow from the library. Besides, I met some really interesting people while doing them, and some led to better opportunities.
Teach your kids the value of a dollar, and have them know what it really means in their gut. That is how poverty will be eliminated eventually in spite of any obstacles societal or otherwise.