of the taxpayers' money. On this basis they recommend the abolishment of welfare and affirmative action. Murray argues, "For many people, there is nothing they can learn that will repay the cost of teaching.Three times as many black children as white children live in families below the official U.S. poverty line. The average black child in the United States lives in a family whose long-term income ranks at about the ninth percentile of white income distribution, according to the study. The percentile ranking for blacks drops to about the fifth percentile of white income distribution when adjusted for the very different neighborhood conditions black and white children typically live in. The significance of these factors, and the consequent finding that the economic and learning environments of the home are the most powerful predictors of age-5 racial IQ differences, is the implication that the debate spawned by "The Bell Curve" has badly misdirected the national debate on welfare reform. Such reform is clearly needed, said Duncan, Brooks-Gunn and Klebanov, but the point of reform should be to focus on the real problems of children rather than the presumed moral failings of their parents. Whatever the merits of requiring mandatory employment and responsible behavior, the researchers said, the key issue -- and the one with the greatest impact on the nation's future -- is how such requirements will affect family poverty. ]