Name: Poverty, by America
ISBN: 9780593239919

Poverty, by America

Reimagining the debate on poverty, making a new and bracing argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it.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. Those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor, driving down their wages while forcing them to overpay for housing and access to cash and credit. We prioritize the subsidization of our wealth over the alleviation of poverty, designing a welfare state that gives the most to those who need the least. And we stockpile opportunity in exclusive communities, creating zones of concentrated riches alongside those of concentrated despair. Some lives are made small so that others may grow.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.

What Hacker News says

benwerdAug 2023

Here are some I've read recently that I can highly recommend:

Fiction:

- How High We Go in the Dark, a deeply moving science fiction story about loss - https://bookshop.org/p/books/how-high-we-go-in-the-dark-sequ...

- Severance (no relation to the TV show), which works as a pretty good double bill to the above - https://bookshop.org/p/books/severance-ling-ma/9880874

- Ripe, about the artifice of Silicon Valley and its human cost - https://bookshop.org/p/books/ripe-sarah-rose-etter/18992345

Non-fiction:

- The Jakarta Method, on US foreign policy (really should be required reading for every US citizen) - https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-jakarta-method-washington-s...

- Poverty, by America, which is in some ways a cathartic read about the systemic ways poverty is incentivized (by the author of the deservedly award-winning Evicted) - https://bookshop.org/p/books/poverty-by-america-matthew-desm...

- README.txt: Chelsea Manning's memoir, which is riveting - not just about her story, but also in the little details about the information work she did while she was deployed - https://bookshop.org/p/books/readme-txt-a-memoir-chelsea-man...

thread

roopawlApr 2023

Another commenter mentions the 'moral flexibility' of Uber. From the featured photo this appears to be another attribute of the diaspora. The business model of Arrived is frankly disgusting.

I highly recommend "Poverty, By America" if you'd like the background for my comment.

https://www.amazon.com/Poverty-America-Matthew-Desmond/dp/05...

thread

readonthegoappMay 2023

i would guess any one that hasn't been demolished yet can be termed a success, but it probably depends on your definition of 'success'.

i think of all the 'slums' that Robert Moses and other folks demolished throughout history. they could have used a little investment instead of disinvestment/neglect, but even as is, they were successes in most folks' views -- including and especially the people that lived in those neighborhoods and buildings -- but Moses and others had the power.

does public housing provide housing to people? yes. does that make it a success? i would say 'yes' -- maybe a qualified yes.

is it still a success if there is crime and no heat and etc.? still maybe a 'yes', since the other option is probably homelessness and jail and near-total loss of dignity, but again, goes back to one's definition of success.

shoot, this lefty-ish video (11 min) says it's currently illegal for the US to build more (federal?) public housing -- tf?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw0KqSNHXqg

but i kind of see 'successful public housing' as 'successful [insert federal program here]' -- if a program was grandfathered in a long time ago, it might be able to stick around for a while, but even then it will continue to be under relentless attack until it is gone -- think Social Security or public education or, as the video points out, public housing.

and creating new 'successful' public programs of any kind today is probably completely off the table -- unless it's really just a facade for grift -- a way to filter a few billion/trillion to private enterprise -- think Department of Homeland Security.

even where there is massive public support for a federal program -- think Medicare for All (free/taxpayer/public-funded health care) -- maybe 70% of the population wants it, depending on which polling firms/questions are asked -- and there is little to no chance of it becoming reality because the US is a low-democracy country.

but change is always possible if the population decides to fight back. i heard an anecdote, i think from 'Poverty, By America' (Matthew Desmond), about a convergence of protests in DC where a group of Maga protesters and a group of Civil Rights protesters happened to see each other and ended up shaking hands in solidarity with each other over either the expensive cost of housing or cost of living or something. that makes sense to me. we're not there yet, but it always seems like a possibility that is lurking around the corner.

https://bookshop.org/p/books/poverty-by-america-matthew-desm...

thread

marymkearneyMar 2023

https://archive.vn/Lqgk2

Book review of Matthew Desmond's "Poverty, by America." Another one: https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/npr/1158230630/...

thread