“Poverty, by America”, from professor of sociology at Princeton University, Matthew Desmond, is a gut punch to everyone with an ounce of empathy in their heart. He masterfully shares a narrative about the pervasiveness of poverty in our country in a way that its clear and concise.
Most Americans like to believe that there is upward mobility for anyone who is willing to work hard and put in the right amount of effort. That, as is turns out, a fallacy that we all like to buy into because the truth is much harder to swallow.
In the case of poverty here in America, we’re all to blame. Every single one of us who has benefited from the way things are setup is, at least partially, to blame. If you’ve ever read a thread on NextDoor, or listened in to the after Sunday service talk at a small town diner you know what I’m talking about. There are systems, structures, and dividing lines setup all over our nation that keep those in power there and those in want of daily necessities there too.
We all, well most of us, like the idea of equality and everyone getting a fairer slice of the American pie, but when it comes down to it. Many of us are against the tax hike that will benefit those who need help the most or the public housing development planned to be put up down the street? Why? People often lean into believing harmful stereotypes over truthful facts about how all benefit when those who have are willing to share a little.
The United States, the richest country on earth, has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. Why? Why does this land of plenty allow one in every eight of its children to go without basic necessities, permit scores of its citizens to live and die on the streets, and authorize its corporations to pay poverty wages?
In this landmark book, acclaimed sociologist Matthew Desmond draws on history, research, and original reporting to show how affluent Americans knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. Elegantly written and fiercely argued, this compassionate book gives us new ways of thinking about a morally urgent problem. It also helps us imagine solutions. Desmond builds a startlingly original and ambitious case for ending poverty. He calls on us all to become poverty abolitionists, engaged in a politics of collective belonging to usher in a new age of shared prosperity and, at last, true freedom.
– MatthewDesmondBooks.com
Reading “Poverty, by America” had me feeling all sorts of feelings as I read through the text. I was there as a child. Food wasn’t always on the table. We didn’t always have a place to live or know why we had to move out so fast sometimes. Now, as an adult, we have enough to meet our own needs, but we’re only where we are because of a series of chance happenings that ended up working out in our benefit. We have debt, but we have a stable place to live for our family. Our kids aren’t in designer clothes, but they have as much food as they can ever eat.
The problem isn’t as simple as this political party is anti-poor and that one isn’t. As much as I’d love to blame one part over another, I can’t. I have to blame my pwn political party too. They are all complicit in the systemic poverty that grips America so tightly. This book clearly shows it to be true.
Do you want things to change? Cool. Are you willing to help make it happen? “Maybe not” is what I expect you would say if you knew no one was listening. Let’s all do something, even if it is small, to help eradicate poverty from America. Please.
You can start with reading “Poverty, by America.”
This is my affiliate link you can use to buy “Poverty, by America” by Matthew Desmond.
Or I’m sure your local library has it too.
There is even a free reader’s guide you can download from Penguin Random House Books.