RE “PROSPERITY in sustainability’’ by Jeffrey D. Sachs: The Federal Reserve surveyed Americans this year to determine whether their personal financial situation was improving along with the economy. Of those surveyed, 46 percent said that they did not have enough savings to cover an unexpected $400 expense. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the United States has the highest poverty rate of any advanced economy, at an estimated 17 percent. What is surprising is that our legislative leaders lack any workable solutions to reverse such an enormous problem.

Since the War on Poverty began more than 50 years ago, the federal government has steadfastly held the belief that income redistribution was the principal solution to ending poverty in America. Yet poverty rates today are about where they were in the early 1960s. We have created generations of dependency — a condition that in turn has created more poverty.

Progressives should admit publicly what they acknowledge privately: Government antipoverty programs do not work. The institution of government has no ability to lift people out of poverty if those same people are unwilling to make a significant effort on their own behalf. Redistributing income from one group to another is not the answer. Developing skills required by employers in a quickly evolving economy is the only true antipoverty program.

Sean F. Flaherty, Charlestown