Poverty, By America, by Matthew Desmond, Random House, 2023.

Mr. Desmond, a professor of sociology at Princeton University, won a Pulitzer Prize for his earlier 2016 book, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. It tells the stories of eight families who, in some cases, had to spend 70% of their income for rent. And because women are paid less than men and are often raising children, they pay a greater emotional price.

Mr. Desmond grew up pretty poor, in a small railroad town in Arizona, and after his family’s home was lost to foreclosure, Poverty stressed and diminished them. He wondered: is this how families dealt with hard times? Why should there be so much hardship and desperation in this land of money?

Of his time later living in Milwaukee, Mr. Desmond says, “I saw a level of poverty that was incredibly cruel, and painful, and it drilled home in me that this is a morally urgent issue; this isn’t just about people having enough money – this is about pain, on top of eviction, on top of hunger, on top of incarceration, on top of, just, death, really…”  (C-Span “After Words” March 29^th, 2023).

Why is there so much poverty in this incredibly wealthy nation? This question drove him to write his book. And he also said: “This book is about how some lives are made small, so that others may grow…There is an incredible amount of unnecessary scarcity in this land of abundance…(and) this book is about why and how we can finally abolish it. This is a call to rebalance our safety net. I want a country that does a lot more to fight poverty than it does to guard fortunes.”

Mr. Desmond cites a study that says: “…if the top 1% just paid the taxes they owed, not pay more taxes, just stop evading taxes, we as a nation could raise an additional 175 billion. That’s more than enough money to re-establish the child tax credit; that’s enough to double our investment in affordable housing and still have money left over.” (Poverty, By America  by Matthew Desmond. April 18^th, 2023 interview on “Democracy Now.”)

How do we subsidize the wealthy? One way is the $1.8 trillion per year supplied by tax breaks – which is about double what we spend on the military. Wealthier people get more of these tax breaks from the government, than poor people get. “We could afford [to abolish poverty in America] if the richest among us took less from the government, if we designed a welfare state to do less to subsidize affluence and more to eradicate poverty.”

Another area in which the poor are disadvantaged is in housing. Private equity swooped in after the financial crisis of 2008 and bought up enormous amounts of housing, reducing the overall inventory. Mr. Desmond believes that expanding  opportunities for first time homeowners and working families could ease some of this situation. But banks prefer to lend money for expensive real estate rather than lower cost mortgages. There’s a much larger financial return from financing big ticket homes and commercial projects.

Aid Left on the Table

There are a lot of different kinds of financial aid for the poor, but it is often hard and confusing to get the money. He says they are entitled to it, but in many cases are not told how to apply for it. Mr. Desmond endorses increasing the understanding needed to apply for aid, and cutting the red tape.

“We do a very poor job in connecting families with programs that they need and deserve…Most Americans want a higher minimum wage, most Americans think the rich are not paying their fair share of taxes, most Americans, Democrat and Republican, believe now that poverty isn’t caused by a moral failing – that it’s caused by unfair circumstances.”

Concerns about Basic Needs

His 2023 book, tackles poverty in two sections: “Facts About Poverty in Your State” and “Join the Fight.” Links are provided to learn more about the issues related to poverty in the first section, and lists of organizations, both on a national and state level, that advocate for change are featured in the second. Mr. Desmond is passionate about what he has learned and argues that we may be ignorant of how poverty is allowed to exist in America, but that we can change our awareness and do something concrete.    https://endpovertyusa.org/

In his epilogue, Mr. Desmond says that poverty will be abolished in America only when a mass movement stirs. He believes that all of us “…can learn from, support, and join movements led by those who have intimate knowledge of poverty’s many slights and humiliations... mass movements are composed of scores of people finding their own way to pitch in.”

What I hear from Island County residents is this: I have just enough for myself and my family. Movements for change creep along at glacial speed and the folks who might create some change, aren’t compelled to do what we ask for. There’s some societal pressure for change, but there’s no leverage to change. I’m just one person, in a county of 87,000 people.

Mr. Desmond makes the point that: “Profiting from someone else’s pain diminishes all of us.” And at the end of the C-Span interview he says: “I think the book (Poverty, By America) makes the case that an America without poverty makes for a freer America, a safer America, a happier America, and it’s an America that’s committed to each other’s flourishing.”

Those who live too close to disaster’s edge usually don’t have much hope. Their constant focus is a four-sided box of not enough work, shelter, food, and a running car. Add the stress of providing for children, and you have people who feel trapped and desperate. Social change holds out the hope that we are moving closer to having enough –- enough safety and security and enough satisfaction through a shared community of relatives, friends, and neighbors.

Next books I will be reviewing: Tales of Two Americas: Stories of Inequality in A Divided Nation by John Freeman, and Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis by Beth Macy. Will also be covering: A History of Reading.               

Mike Diamanti