THE DILEMMA OF CASH INCENTIVES

Need to Know from New Hampshire Public TV looks at the Family Rewards Program - an initiative in Memphis, Tennessee, that aims to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty by offering cash incentives. The program rewards low-income families with cash payments for good attendance, good grades, steady employment, and going to the doctor and dentist. The goal is to increase self-sufficiency and create healthy habits.  

It seems one could argue either side of the initiative.  Comparing the strategy to one of bribing children to do their homework puts adults in poverty into the same paternalistic category of children--less than.  

The video is here.