75% of families living below the federal poverty line today will succeed in moving over the poverty line within four years despite a system that penalizes such progress. It is hard to keep that momentum going once a financial emergency arises.
According to The Pew Charitable Trusts, the average cost of financial shock is $2,000 (job layoff, health crisis, etc). Families that have worked hard to escape poverty and build their assets are forced to dissolve those assets before qualifying for safety net benefits when faced with a financial shock, returning them to poverty and a position of need.