How One Law Change Can Dramatically Reduce Poverty

In this episode of We Can Do Better, we examine a true silver bullet that would dramatically reduce poverty in the United States: a proposed law to update and improve our Supplemental Security Income program, known as SSI.

We start out the episode with the story of Dorothy (not her real name), one of our many eviction court clients who is unable to work because of disability. Like 7.4 million Americans, Dorothy’s sole income is her SSI check. But that monthly check is only $994. It is the maximum amount SSI allows, but it is not even enough to cover Dorothy’s rent, much less other expenses.

That outdated monthly limit—along with tight restrictions on obtaining any other source of income—condemns millions of people who are living with disabilities to also live in deep poverty. And, like Dorothy and so many others, it sentences them to a lifetime of evictions and homelessness.

Our guest Stephen Nuñez, a researcher at the Roosevelt Institute, shows that we can do better. Stephen’s analysis of the SSI Restoration Act, introduced in Congress by Senator Elizabeth Warren and others, would boost the SSI monthly amount and dismantle nonsensical restrictions.

The bottom line from Stephen’s analysis: This legislation would do a LOT to help Dorothy and so many others. More people who are living with disabilities would get SSI, and a lot less people on SSI would be in poverty.

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You can listen to and/or watch our conversation at our podcast channels on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube.

Here is some of the suggested reading mentioned in the episode:

• Stephen Nuñez, Jack Landry, Estimating the Cost and Impacts of the SSI Restoration Act, https://rooseveltinstitute.org/publications/estimating-the-cost-and-impacts-of-the-ssi-restoration-act/

• SSI Restoration Act of 2026 Overview:, Justice in Aging, https://justiceinaging.org/the-supplemental-security-income-ssi-restoration-act/

• This One Neat Trick Can Reduce Homelessness, https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/increase-ssi-reduce-homelessness