Tackling poverty in the US and the link to federalism

Last weekend the Republican party held a presidential forum on tackling poverty, chaired by the popular House Speaker Paul Ryan - most of the Republican presidential hopefuls were present (Trump and Cruz notable by their absence) and introduced their views on tackling poverty for pretty much the first time in their campaigns despite nearly 50m Americans living below the poverty line. Mr Ryan has proposed transferring responsibility for tackling poverty away from federal government and towards state governments by using block grants, rather than categorical grants, and this view was endorsed by the campaign-runners who were present.