A year ago, we began this Commission's interim report with the words, "poverty dismays us. It always has." It still does. We have found no magical solution to the ancient challenge of poverty. But as we worked to complete our charge, a recurrent theme sounded in all our discussions: any plan to overcome poverty in this Commonwealth must be grounded m the bedrock values of work and family.

We have reached the strong and clear consensus that what Virginia -- and the nation -- needs is a purposeful, coordinated welfare reform strategy that eliminates barriers to and strengthens incentives for productive work and strong, stable families.

It is equally clear that this strategy must be based on responsibility -- the individual's responsibility to work toward self-sufficiency and society's responsibility to protect and support its vulnerable members, especially children.

Under this agreement of mutual responsibility, every one of us and every segment of society has responsibilities and obligations: individuals, families, neighborhoods, communities, government, education, business, labor, religious congregations, civic groups, social action programs, charitable organizations. Our recommendations are grounded in this interlocking system of responsibility and obligation, with individual responsibility at its core Making the deep structural changes -- institutional and cultural that we believe are required to overcome poverty and achieve welfare reform will be difficult painful and controversial. The emotional power and polarizing potential of the issues and choices we have debated for two years are echoing now in the national debate on welfare reform. Some of the approaches we recommend are similar to proposals which have ignited controversy in other states and on the national level.

Debate is essential if we are to find consensus. However, it must not be allowed to divide us into warring camps. Poverty's harvest of joblessness, hopelessness, teen pregnancy, fatherless children, generations of welfare dependency, crime, violence, fear and resentment is not defined by race, gender, neighborhood, class, or region. Poverty is everywhere, and it is everyone's problem It is important to say, too, that we will not overcome poverty or reform the welfare system by punishing poor people or continuing to enable them to scrape along on handouts. It is profoundly disrespectful to expect more, or less, of someone who is poor than we do of our children or ourselves. Like other Americans, poor people want to work, pay taxes, build their communities and make better lives for their children. It is time for government to get out of the way of those aspirations.