Matthew Desmond: Poverty, by America (2023, Penguin Books, Limited)
English language
Published Dec. 24, 2023 by Penguin Books, Limited.
Great research and reframing numerous ways to think about poverty in America.
I picked this up because I had really enjoyed reading Desmond's previous book, Evicted. While that book was longer and followed a cast of characters, this book is a direct, bracing jeremiad. Poverty exists, in short, because there are a lot of people who can do well while others suffer. That isn't just billionaires -- if you take the mortgage interest tax deduction, you are getting government largesse. We, as a country, just view that differently from food stamps. I am sure that there are many readers of this book who will not be comfortable having Desmond's sights trained on them. But that's precisely the point. Desmond's writing is passionate but thoroughly backed by his analysis. We don't have to live this way, and other countries don't treat their most vulnerable citizens with such contempt (that's why this is poverty "by America"). Solving poverty is possible; we just have …
I picked this up because I had really enjoyed reading Desmond's previous book, Evicted. While that book was longer and followed a cast of characters, this book is a direct, bracing jeremiad. Poverty exists, in short, because there are a lot of people who can do well while others suffer. That isn't just billionaires -- if you take the mortgage interest tax deduction, you are getting government largesse. We, as a country, just view that differently from food stamps. I am sure that there are many readers of this book who will not be comfortable having Desmond's sights trained on them. But that's precisely the point. Desmond's writing is passionate but thoroughly backed by his analysis. We don't have to live this way, and other countries don't treat their most vulnerable citizens with such contempt (that's why this is poverty "by America"). Solving poverty is possible; we just have to care enough to do it.
This is a fairly short book, and thus far from comprehensive. I was expecting something more similar to Desmond's previous work, Evicted, with more focus on in-depth statistics and interviews with individuals. This definitely utilizes some statistics and historical information, as well as brief anecdotes, but this work feels more like a persuasive essay rather than offering concrete information. While I don't disagree with most of what Desmond says (aside from feeling like the solutions he asks for are a bit too centrist and not nearly radical enough), I also don't feel like I really learned anything new.
If you're relatively new to learning about how poverty affects people in the United States and the various systems involved, as well as possible solutions, this is a solid primer.
