Matthew Desmond's "Poverty, by America" is a forceful and provocative examination of why poverty persists in the United States, despite its immense wealth. Unlike traditional studies that focus primarily on the poor themselves, Desmond shifts the lens to the affluent and the systems that perpetuate poverty, arguing that poverty exists not due to the failings of the poor, but because the rest of society benefits from its continuation123.
Desmond contends that poverty in America is not accidental or inevitable; it is the result of deliberate policy choices and economic structures that benefit the affluent at the expense of the poor123. He challenges the common narrative that poverty is the fault of the poor, instead asserting that the wealthy and middle class profit from low wages, cheap goods and services, and government policies that disproportionately favor them143.
Tax Breaks and Subsidies: Desmond highlights how affluent Americans receive substantial government support in the form of tax breaks (such as mortgage interest deductions and college savings plans), which far outweigh direct aid to the poor143. He argues that these policies reinforce inequality by subsidizing wealth accumulation for the already well-off.
Labor and Wages: The decline of labor unions and the rise of precarious, low-wage work have suppressed earnings for the working class, while benefiting consumers and investors through lower prices and higher returns14.
Housing and Banking: Desmond describes a dual system in which the affluent use homeownership as a vehicle for wealth-building, supported by favorable policies, while the poor are relegated to unstable rental markets and predatory lenders1.
Desmond argues that affluent Americans "hoard opportunity" by maintaining exclusive communities, superior schools, and well-funded public services, while poorer neighborhoods are left with under-resourced institutions423. This segregation is not just geographic but is embedded in policies that allow the wealthy to shield themselves from the consequences of poverty, further entrenching disadvantage.
Education: Policies that support "good" school districts inherently require the existence of "bad" ones, perpetuating cycles of privilege and deprivation4.
Community Resources: The affluent benefit from infrastructure and services that are unavailable to poorer communities, reinforcing disparities in health, safety, and opportunity23.
Desmond is especially critical of the fact that the United States, the richest nation on earth, tolerates levels of poverty unseen in other advanced democracies3. He notes that one in eight American children lacks basic necessities, and many adults live and die on the streets, despite the country’s capacity to eliminate such suffering3. He argues that the persistence of poverty is a moral failure, not a technical or economic one.
The book is ultimately a manifesto, urging Americans to become "poverty abolitionists"—to recognize their complicity in systems that perpetuate poverty and to demand transformative change423. Desmond calls for a collective politics that prioritizes shared prosperity and dismantles the structures that keep the poor poor.
Policy Solutions: He suggests that eradicating poverty would require redirecting subsidies and tax breaks from the affluent to the poor, strengthening labor protections, expanding affordable housing, and investing in public goods2.
Cost of Ending Poverty: Desmond estimates that ending poverty in the U.S. would cost about $177 billion—a sum he argues is well within the nation’s means, especially when compared to the scale of existing subsidies for the wealthy2.
Provocative and Accessible Argument: Desmond’s central thesis—that poverty persists because others benefit from it—is presented with clarity and moral urgency, making the book accessible to a broad audience and sparking necessary debate23.
Impeccable Research: The book is meticulously documented, with extensive notes and references that support its claims and provide avenues for further exploration2.
Shift in Perspective: By focusing on the complicity and benefit of the non-poor, Desmond challenges readers to reconsider their own roles in perpetuating poverty, moving the conversation beyond blaming the poor for their circumstances142.
Call to Action: The book’s passionate call for "poverty abolitionism" is both hopeful and galvanizing, urging readers to imagine and work toward a more just society23.
Lack of Ethnographic Depth: Unlike Desmond’s previous work, "Evicted," which was grounded in immersive fieldwork and rich narrative detail, "Poverty, by America" is more polemical and less personal. Some reviewers note that it lacks the vivid stories and character-driven narrative that made "Evicted" so compelling2.
Overly Broad and Polemical: The book’s tone is described as urgent, sometimes angry, and less nuanced than Desmond’s earlier scholarship. For some, this shift from careful analysis to manifesto is disorienting or disappointing42.
Selective Engagement with Evidence: Critics argue that Desmond sometimes glosses over or misrepresents empirical research, particularly regarding the effectiveness of government transfers and the actual distribution of tax burdens56. For example, some point out that government taxes and transfers do, in fact, increase the incomes of the poor more than the rich, contrary to Desmond’s implications6.
Simplification of Poverty's Causes: Some reviewers contend that Desmond’s focus on exploitation and policy choices underplays the complexity of poverty, including factors like personal behavior, labor force participation, and the role of incentives56. They argue that his dismissal of the "success sequence" (graduating high school, working full-time, marrying before children) as a route out of poverty is not fully supported by the evidence56.
Limited Policy Detail: While Desmond calls for major reforms, critics note that his policy prescriptions are sometimes vague or lack specificity about implementation and trade-offs26.
"Poverty, by America" is a bold and impassioned intervention in the national conversation about poverty. Its greatest strength lies in reframing the issue as a product of societal choices and structures that benefit the non-poor, rather than a failure of the poor themselves. The book is meticulously researched and morally urgent, but its polemical style and selective engagement with evidence have drawn criticism from some quarters. Whether one agrees with all of Desmond’s arguments or not, the book succeeds in challenging readers to confront their own complicity in the persistence of poverty and to imagine a more equitable future1423.