Mayor Offers Money as Prod Out of Poverty

Fifty dollars for opening a bank account. That's what some poor New Yorkers will receive under Mayor Bloomberg's new anti-poverty program.

The pilot program, which has never been tested in America, will pay participants up to $5,000 a year for doing things like attending parent-teacher conferences, going to the doctor, and opening bank accounts.

"What we are trying to do here is use capitalism to encourage behavior," Mr. Bloomberg, who traveled to Mexico earlier this year to learn about a similar program there, said.

Mr. Bloomberg said half of the 3,000 families who have enrolled in the city's new anti-poverty pilot program did not have bank accounts when they joined. As of yesterday, 170 had opened accounts with one of eight financial institutions that have agreed to waive basic fees.

Mr. Bloomberg said opening bank accounts would save poor families hundreds of dollars in check cashing costs and other charges, as well as helping them to build a credit history.