In Poverty, By America, Matthew Desmond confronts the reader with a startling reality: despite decades of economic growth, poverty in post-COVID America remains a deep-seated issue. As a renowned sociologist at Princeton University, Desmond challenges the reader to reconsider our understanding of poverty, not as an unfortunate economic anomaly, but instead as the creation of political choices and structures. And being such a problem, poverty can only be alleviated through political means.
Desmond structures his book into two distinct parts. The first part outlines the historical foundations of poverty in the United States and how it has impacted our present juncture. It looks at the political struggle surrounding poverty, along with the victories and setbacks in poverty-reduction measures. He notes that while there are numerous poverty-reduction programs in the United States, such programs aren’t usually taken up by people in need. In fact, it is the middle class and the wealthy who usually take advantage of cost-saving programs, such as tax breaks associated with mortgages and saving for college. Moreover, Desmond’s book looks at the intersections of poverty with race and gender, as well as through different sectors of the economy, most notably housing. He also looks at the “high costs of being poor,” particularly in relation to companies like payday loan providers who charge massive interest rates. Finally, Desmond analyzes both the measures introduced during COVID-19 that had a dramatic impact on reducing poverty in the United States and their almost immediate rollback.
The second part of the book proposes resolutions to poverty. His solution is two-fold. First, Desmond makes the claim that only if Americans paid their fair share of taxes and politicians enforced tax-collecting policies, we could divert those funds to poverty-reduction measures. Second, he claims that such change is painful and would require not only the will of politicians but also the will of the people, organized into larger social movements. Without the resolve of people pushing for change, Desmond claims that no change will ever be made. This requires the resolve of the people combined with alliances across political lines. In fact, in one section of the book, Desmond points to the common ground found between “Fight for $15” workers and Trump supporters over the payment of fair wages.
There was a lot to like about this book. Not only is this book well-researched, but I really enjoyed how Desmond structured many of the early sections of the book by arguing against common arguments against poverty. Desmond not only targets the usual suspects, fiscal conservatives, and their inability to look at larger structural issues as causing poverty but to my surprise he also argues against progressives and radicals, who narrowly train their focus on the cost-cutting strategies of neoliberal policies. I was also impressed with how Desmond presents poverty reduction strategies as “zero-sum,” meaning that the gains of the poor, if such strategies are enacted, would result in the loss to many in the upper classes. In other words, he doesn’t shy away from the sacrifices necessary to create a more equitable society.
One aspect of Desmond’s book that I found less convincing was his primary solution to poverty reduction, which is galvanizing a widespread social movement among all Americans to combat poverty. While I agree that any political action requires popular mobilization, and I also agree with Desmond that poverty reduction measures can find common ground amongst various groups, I find his emphasis on the creation of social movements to be vague, simplistic, and idealistic. Even if such a movement were to arise, what are its concrete goals, how is it organized, what internal struggles may arise, and how can it sustain momentum? Moreover, if poverty is still a problem, despite numerous movements in the past, what led these movements to fail? In other words, while advocating for the formation of a social movement appears commendable, it also feels both superficial and somewhat hollow.
Despite these criticisms, ‘Poverty, By America’ is an important addition to the contemporary discourse on poverty. Desmond’s analysis goes beyond the traditional narratives and arguments surrounding poverty and challenges readers to not only consider the political nature of the issue but also their own culpability in the reproduction of it. While I believe the book would have benefited from more detailed strategies for overcoming poverty in the United States, this book was also short and seemed more like an introduction to the problem and the start of a solution, rather than anything comprehensive. In all, despite any shortcomings, I would highly recommend this book, particularly as an introductory primer on the topic of poverty in the United States.
The Online Sociologist 