Table shows that the percentage of children in families with income below the poverty line far exceeds

Question:

Table shows that the percentage of children in families with income below the poverty line far exceeds the percentage of the elderly in such families. How might the allocation of government money across different social programs have contributed to this phenomenon?
Group Poverty Rate
All persons............... 13.2%
White, not Hispanic............. 8.6
Black................... 24.7
Hispanic.................. 23.2
Asian ................... 11.8
Children (under age 18)........... 19.0
Elderly (over age 64) ............ 9.7
Married-couple families........... 5.5
Female household, no spouse present....... 31.4