Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
Poverty, by America
Author: Matthew Desmond
Genre: Nonfiction, Socioeconomics
Publish Date: March 2023
Read: October 2025
Favorite Quote:
Synopsis: As the richest country on earth, the USA gets to claim more poverty than any other advanced democracy. One in eight children goes without basic necessities. Hundreds of thousands live and die on the streets throughout the nation. Corporations are incentivized to have a race to the bottom for wages.
As a European once said, “The United States is the nicest third-world country I’ve visited.”
Why does the USA permit such poverty to exist? Matthew Desmond dives deep into history, existing research, and anecdotes from his own journalism to show how those of us who are financially secure exploit the poor and perpetuate systems of poverty, abuse, and exploitation - unknowingly.
Why does this book beguile? If this book surprises you, you haven’t been paying attention. And that’s the point. Matthew Desmond desperately wants to shine a light on a massive socioeconomic, political, and humanitarian issue: poverty in the richest nation in the world. Too many citizens live in squalor based on a poverty level designed quickly and not updated since WWII. The way Desmond argues, you’ll walk away believing that solving poverty will help solve the majority of other problems the USA faces.
Bookshop.Org Link*: Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
Amazon.com Link*: Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond
If you’re interested in this, read*: Evicted by Matthew Desmond
