affect the economy according to the GAO report. Research has consistently shown that the quality of education received by poor children is substantially below those for children from middle and upper-income families. Providing children with a substandard education is both a cause and an effect of poverty. This report comments that as long as America continues to fund local schools in part through local property taxes, there will be serious educational disadvantages for children living in poorer areas.
This report also notes that economic theory predicts that low wages or unemployment makes crime more "attractive" because of the lower earnings or returns that would be available to an individual with limited job skills and a substandard education through legal employment options. The report cites at least one study indicating that higher levels of unemployment are associated with higher levels of property crime. This conclusion is controversial. One again, it can be argued that poverty is both a cause and effect of criminal activity.
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