Why Poverty Persists in America

[Nevilledog]

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/09/magazine/poverty-by-america-matthew-desmond.html

No paywall
https://archive.is/Qf2PO

In the past 50 years, scientists have mapped the entire human genome and eradicated smallpox. Here in the United States, infant-mortality rates and deaths from heart disease have fallen by roughly 70 percent, and the average American has gained almost a decade of life. Climate change was recognized as an existential threat. The internet was invented.

On the problem of poverty, though, there has been no real improvement — just a long stasis. As estimated by the federal government’s poverty line, 12.6 percent of the U.S. population was poor in 1970; two decades later, it was 13.5 percent; in 2010, it was 15.1 percent; and in 2019, it was 10.5 percent. To graph the share of Americans living in poverty over the past half-century amounts to drawing a line that resembles gently rolling hills. The line curves slightly up, then slightly down, then back up again over the years, staying steady through Democratic and Republican administrations, rising in recessions and falling in boom years.

What accounts for this lack of progress? It cannot be chalked up to how the poor are counted: Different measures spit out the same embarrassing result. When the government began reporting the Supplemental Poverty Measure in 2011, designed to overcome many of the flaws of the Official Poverty Measure, including not accounting for regional differences in costs of living and government benefits, the United States officially gained three million more poor people. Possible reductions in poverty from counting aid like food stamps and tax benefits were more than offset by recognizing how low-income people were burdened by rising housing and health care costs.
The American poor have access to cheap, mass-produced goods, as every American does. But that doesn’t mean they can access what matters most.

Any fair assessment of poverty must confront the breathtaking march of material progress. But the fact that standards of living have risen across the board doesn’t mean that poverty itself has fallen. Forty years ago, only the rich could afford cellphones. But cellphones have become more affordable over the past few decades, and now most Americans have one, including many poor people. This has led observers like Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill, senior fellows at the Brookings Institution, to assert that “access to certain consumer goods,” like TVs, microwave ovens and cellphones, shows that “the poor are not quite so poor after all.”

*snip*

[SheltieLover]

1. The cause of poverty in a word: qpukes

They won't even provide food assistance for the hungry.

We all know the importance of adequate nutrition. This is why Michelle Obama focused so much on healthy student lunches.

Funny how that works, the brain needs adequate fuel for people to be successful in life!

[Johnny2X2X]

2. Very good article

It touches in the fact that the entire economy is set up to prey on the poor. When you’re poor, everything is more expensive and everything is a scam.

[CrispyQ]

3. I think it was William Barber who said we've never declared a war on poverty.

It doesn't help that there's a new breed of Christianity that says God favors the wealthy. Basically, if you're poor, you're morally lacking, so poverty is your own fault. Another article I read said that Americans are trinket rich, but equity poor. Sure we have electronics, furniture, & nice cars, but we have no equity in our houses, very few investments, & essentially no savings. Also, federal minimum wage hasn't gone up since 2009.

[Joinfortmill]

4. Well, as a child brought up in poverty for the first 8 years of my life.. This is my take.

During the 1950s, I was a raised by a single, divorced mother until she remarried when I was nine. She worked as a waitress. She was able to afford a two bedroom apartment, pay an after school babysitter and send me to brownies. We lived in a small northeastern city with a good bus system and a family doctor that provided care no matter if you could pay or not. I'm not certain, but I don't think she was on any government programs. My grandfather had a huge garden and grew tons of fruits and vegetables, so we always had healthy food to eat.

Fast forward to today, and social safety nets aside, housing is scarce and not at all affordable. I recently rented a small 2 bedroom condo in a small northeastern town and pay $2100 month, not including heat. My monthly electric heating bill is $200 and I keep the thermostat at 66 degrees. That doesn't even count food, clothing and medical expenses. If I am correct, only four states have a minimum wage of $15 an hour.

It's hard out there for folks.

[dickthegrouch]

5. And don't forget that the IRS has a single definition of poverty for the entire country.

Social Security is not based on the actual expenses of a particular region either.
There are so many ways in which the poor are ignored.
Equal protection should always have been "equitable protection" in my mind.

But the real crime is that all this has been known for decades and the legislators have done NOTHING to improve it.

There are hundreds of examples where unscrupulous people and organizations are taking advantage of loopholes. Those loopholes are NEVER closed off.

We, the people, want not just representative government, but GOOD government that addresses its failures quickly just like we have to.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

6. Feature, not a bug. K&R.

[jmbar2]

7. Really good article - thanks for posting the free link

It's also hard for poor people to stay informed when every news source requires a subscription.

You made a difference today by posting this!

[Chainfire]

8. There is X amount of wealth.

When some own it by the billions, others have to have nearly nothing.

[uponit7771]

12. +1,

[markie]

9. this

part is just too difficult for many to understand.... no easy answers


"...Corporations benefit from worker exploitation, sure, but so do consumers, who buy the cheap goods and services the working poor produce, and so do those of us directly or indirectly invested in the stock market. Landlords are not the only ones who benefit from housing exploitation; many homeowners do, too, their property values propped up by the collective effort to make housing scarce and expensive. The banking and payday-lending industries profit from the financial exploitation of the poor, but so do those of us with free checking accounts, as those accounts are subsidized by billions of dollars in overdraft fees.

Living our daily lives in ways that express solidarity with the poor could mean we pay more; anti-exploitative investing could dampen our stock portfolios. By acknowledging those costs, we acknowledge our complicity. Unwinding ourselves from our neighbors’ deprivation and refusing to live as enemies of the poor will require us to pay a price. It’s the price of our restored humanity and renewed country."

[cachukis]

10. We live in a world where accumulated wealth holds sway.

Corporations sell consumption to all of us, rich and poor.
Legacy benefits aren't exclusive, but those without them generally live in "emergency." That in itself is the legacy of the poor.
Even the poor pride themselves on being survivors of "without."

When a society's protection of wealth outweighs its empathy for those without, it excuses this nature by rationalizing that there will always be the poor.

Many with wealth donate to their particular causes for tax benefits. Taxes, on the other hand, go to general welfare. When that gets manipulated by government, the government fails its duty to all.

Those living in emergency don't have time to pay attention to a way out. It is up to us to call the lawmakers to task. We outnumber the bad guys.

[Diamond_Dog]

11. K and R

[Solly Mack]

13. K&R