How to Succeed in Antipoverty Without Really Trying

How do you get into the antipoverty business? In Brooklyn the Bedford—Stuyvesant YMCA, proposing TRY (Training Resources for Youth), may have come up with an ingenious solution. It merely takes a powerful board of directors and an initial investment of $50,000.

The first step is simple—hire a “professional” staff of social scientists, legislative specialists, and systems experts. They are easy to find, at the universities, or working for the military. Then review federal legislation to see what the government is offering and design a program accordingly. Survey the most current social-science and educational journals and develop a justification for the program “in the light of the most recent research in the ...