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Mayor Bloomberg Suggests Anti-Poverty Solution

The City of New York`s Mayor Michael Bloomberg says poor New Yorkers who make healthy choices-such as staying in school and regularly seeing the doctor-should be rewarded with cash to help break the cycle of poverty. "We want to reward those who have the initiative to go out and try to make their lives better, and if the system is stacked against them making their lives better, that`s what we`re trying to change," Mr. Bloomberg says.

Headed by Time Warner chief Richard Parsons, aided by the president of the non-profit Harlem Children`s Zone, Geoffrey Canada, New York`s anti-poverty commission said "many New Yorkers are locked in a cycle of poverty in which built-in conditions trap them into failure. For example, those who fall behind on vaccinations and doctor checkups may suffer from poor health and struggle to keep jobs."

City Council members said earlier in the week that they will examine the commission`s report and the administration`s proposals. One question will be whether the success of those reward programs overseas could be repeated in America`s most populated city. The deputy mayor for Health and Human Services, Linda Gibbs, said the Bloomberg administration wants to privately raise funds, beginning with about $24 million for programs that reward good behavior in education and health care.