Poverty, by America

Poverty, by America is a 2023 book by the sociologist and professor Matthew Desmond. The title indicates a shift in focus from the standard scholarly discussion of poverty in the United States. Whereas most books and articles focus on describing poverty in order to raise awareness of the plight of the poor, which might collectively be called “poverty in America,” Desmond’s use of the word “by” points to the social and political institutions that create and sustain a degree of poverty that has no comparison in the Global North. Desmond wants Americans to not only notice the poor and feel for their plight but also see how they themselves contribute to the problem of poverty by virtue of the products they buy, the neighborhoods they live in, the government programs they benefit from, and, most importantly, the actions within their power that they do not take.

This guide refers to the first hardcover edition (2023) by Crown Publishing.

Content Warning: This summary contains descriptions of trauma and violence, including sexual assault and drug abuse.

Summary

While Desmond’s intent is not to describe poverty, he has to begin with a description that paves the way for a broader social critique. Poverty is not simply a lack of money, which suggests a passive condition that might afflict someone with a lack of skills or initiative. Relying on the insights of social psychology as well as the stories of people he encountered in his many years of both living in poverty and studying it as an academic, Desmond depicts poverty as pain, fear, shame, sickness, and enforced restraint, all combining to downgrade the quality of a person’s life in all respects, of which the numbers in their bank account are the least concerning.

The key takeaway is that the poor are not just lacking in goods or failing to claw themselves out but are constantly engaged with a myriad network of institutions that make it nearly impossible for them to improve their lot or enjoy even a momentary respite from fear that things will only get worse. Poverty does not exist without a social structure that perpetuates poverty, either by exploiting the poor directly or refusing to help them. The existence of a social structure with a direct interest in sustaining poverty—or at least a lack of interest in alleviating it—provides a much more plausible explanation for the lack of progress made on the issue of poverty in the last half century, as compared with typical scapegoats like immigrants or single mothers.

One of the major causes of poverty in America is the weakening power of workers compared to managers. The minimum wage practically guarantees a life at or near the poverty line, and there is no intrinsic need to pay them so little, other than an agreement between producers and consumers that low labor costs are worth denying workers a fair wage. Modern technology has undoubtedly made it easier to automate many jobs and ship many others overseas, but Desmond insists that people make deliberate choices on how to channel these developments into policy, ensuring that some interests will be privileged and others will not. He argues that the interests of the worker need not be disregarded so thoroughly. Making matters worse, poor people suffer at the hands of landlords and predatory financial lenders who are able to extract more money for less from people with nowhere else to turn.

Another major cause of poverty lies in the methods that middle- and upper-class people utilize to retain their privileges. Contrary to the public perception of “welfare” as free gifts for the poor, the government spends vastly more money on more affluent families, whether by helping them make a down payment on a home or contributing to their employers’ health insurance plan. No political controversy surrounds such measures because those who receive them believe themselves deserving of them and have the clout to prioritize their own interests. Overall, there is a disturbing trend of the wealthy retreating into their own private bubbles, starving the public sphere of services for those who need them.

The closing chapters put forward several policy recommendations for not just improving the conditions of the poor but also abolishing poverty outright. This includes raising the minimum wage, investing in affordable housing, and shutting down tax shelters for millionaires and billionaires. The most important proposal is eliminating the invisible boundaries between rich and poor so that they live in the same neighborhoods, send their children to the same schools, and thus have to turn to one another to address social problems. This will not necessarily make the poor richer, but as Desmond points out, money is not the main problem. Letting the poor live in communities with social capital will help them avoid so many of the social problems that haunt high-poverty areas, improving their children’s chances of improving their lives. There will be no solution to poverty as long as the problem remains an abstraction in the minds of voters. It must start in cities and towns where the poor have become neighbors and friends.