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16 Notre Dame J.L. Ethics & Pub. Pol'y 383 (2002)
Wealth Creation in the New Millennium: Transforming Poverty in America

handle is hein.journals/ndlep16 and id is 391 raw text is: WEALTH CREATION IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM: TRANSFORMING POVERTY IN AMERICA RICK SANTORUM* When causes of poverty are discussed-lack of educational resources, drug abuse, racism, family breakdown-one that is often overlooked is access to capital and barriers to wealth crea- tion. In the last century, poverty among the elderly was one of the defining social problems. However, today's growing disparity between the rich and poor is one of the critical social dilemmas we face in the 21st century. I believe that the growing wealth gap is one of the key reasons for this increasing disparity. Despite a strong economy through the 1990s, the gap between the rich and the poor expanded. Among Americans who reach age seventy, the top ten percent own more wealth than the bottom ninety percent.1 How do we address this ineq- uity? Do we restrain those at the top? No, the answer lies in strengthening the asset base of the remaining ninety percent, especially those at the bottom of the income scale. Increased income is one way for families and communities to climb out of poverty. Wealth creation is another. Wealth allows for ownership, fosters self-reliance and independence, and it creates jobs. Wealth in turn creates more wealth. Initiatives that encourage individual wealth creation are imperative to clos- ing the gap between the rich and the poor. I believe the govern- ment can play a role in helping many Americans who struggle to enter the economic mainstream. We have a continuing responsi- bility to carry out the mission we began with the 1996 Welfare Reform Act.2 Welfare reform was really only the first step on a long road to bringing economic stability and intergenerational self-suffi- ciency to the families that have been mired generation after gen- * United States Senator, Pennsylvania. Senator Santorum is the third ranking Republican in the Senate. As Conference Chairman, Senator Santorum directs the communications operations of Senate Republicans. He sits on the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Select Committee on Aging. He also serves on the Committees on the Armed Ser- vices, and Rules and Administration. 1. See JAMES P. SMITH, RAND CORPORATION, UNEQUAL WEALTH & INCEN- TIVES TO SAVE, RAND CORPORATION (1995). 2. Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-193, 110 Stat. 2105 (1996).