[updated on 3/12/2020. Unfortunately, the federal government cancelled the MyRA program.]
Climbing out of poverty requires steady income and a savings program. Money that people earn every week or month is called steady income. If people put some of their income into a bank account, they have a good savings program. It’s impossible to escape poverty without a savings program.
Small Trades Journal 
The myRA is a new and exciting option that will need to be researched and compared to other investment vehicles.
I would just like to point out that if you’re disciplined enough, you can open up an IRA at Vanguard for as little as $1,000 for a target fund, or $3,000 for VFINX. Additional buy ins are $100, but you don’t have to have to set up automatic deposits.
The interest paid out in an online savings account is most likely going to be higher than the bonds, but the myRA is a great way for people to start thinking about their retirement.
Thanks very much for your good comments. If I understand the MyRA proposal correctly, the neat thing is that once a person accumulates $15,000, they will have enough to open up the Vanguard accounts that you mentioned. [There are competitor index funds that appear to do as good a job as the Vanguard funds in long-term investing.]
After I read your comment, I read an article on CNN for clarification:
http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/29/retirement/myra-accounts/
I was on Treasury direct the other day:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/
I thought the interest rates were much lower than they are. It’s not a bad deal for those that are not used to the mentality of being able to save for retirement.
Thanks for your follow up comment
Thanks very much for your good comments. They point out a reality of investing, namely that the minimum initial investment of $1,000-$3,000 may be a barrier to some people who have less cash to invest.