This piece is an argument for peer reviewed journalism and not just peer reviewed scientific reports. Two facts: First, in terms of actual numbers, there are more poor white people than poor people who are racial minorities. Second, while people of color are almost always identified as “poor” even when they are not, poverty in the majority (yes they are still the majority) community is a dirty secret that political elites use to fuel racial conflict. The Brookings Institute has its political goals, one may well be to save anti-poverty programs by explaining to the budget and decision-makers that many of the people who voted for them (and whose votes they courted with dog-whistles) would be hurt. Not that these elites really care, they hate poor white people even more than poor minorities.