America is one of the wealthiest nations on Earth, yet it has more poverty than any other advanced democracy. One in nine Americans lives below the poverty line, and 38 million people can’t afford basic necessities. Despite America’s GDP growing to $26 trillion in 2022, its poverty level hasn’t significantly budged since 1970. Why, in a country so affluent, does poverty persist?
I reviewed Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond’s Poverty, By America for the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Read here.