Matthew Desmond on ‘Poverty, by America’

Matthew Desmond, a Princeton sociologist, is the author of a new book that explores why poverty remains at a higher level in the United States than many of its peer countries. The Pulitzer Prize-winning writer joins Washington Post deputy business editor Damian Paletta to discuss “Poverty, by America” and why such hardship persists in the richest country in the world.
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[@kimbradshaw1480]

"Evicted" was amazing and heartbreaking. I am going to read "Poverty, By America" ASAP. The problem with this wonderful research is that those in power just ignore it, and encourage the demonization of the poor as it suits their political position.

[@MartinScreeton]

Nothing happens if nothing happens... exactly... nothing has happened in decades!

[@andreah6379]

I just placed an order for this book. I really don't need to read any book that gives me nightmares but I need to know more. I want to respond to cruel, heartless comments on YT from ppl that hate the poor, disabled and elderly & keep repeating the conservative meme, "Pick yourself up by your bootstraps," BS.

[@lexa_power]

@@andreah6379so many people assume that people can afford boots. Can’t pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you can’t even contemplate buying boots because you can’t afford the rent or food. Food stamps don’t go far enough to last an entire month. Who has money for boots nowadays? Hardly any of us.

[@Claudia-yd3dd]

Greatest book I read in years, was eye opening.

[@investigativeresearchcounc8388]

When you sleep on the street, opioids become a safe feeling in a harsh world

[@sevensages5279]

There was a homeless man walking across the parking lot of local store. As he approached closer , the neck of a liquor bottle poked out the side pocket of his tattered coat. The first reaction to was think, " Well, just another alcoholic bum" , but upon looking at the man's face up close, he had a deep sorrow emanating from his cloudy, blue-gray eyes. Immediately, one thinks of how would anyone cope with facing that seemingly insurmountable challenge and reality while being sober. While not condoning alcoholism or other addictions brought about by circumstances, one does understand a little more, the minute by minute reality of someone condemned to that life.

[@shadowrange]

Welcome to America..have a nice day

[@johnson2joy]

The UK is following suit, for the first time in my life I am beginning to feel a deep discomfort as I am seeing poverty that I have never seen in my lifetime before. I am a well educated person receiving a reasonable salary, owning my own home, but more and more I am seeing poverty all around me in the streets, the public transport etc but what I noticed is that the poor are being demonised and treated with total contempt in our media. It is has become unbearable for me because I was brought up with values that does not seem to be considered valuable anymore and money is the new God to worship by any means and not to be shared and to treat those "left behind" as losers when the truth is that the inequality has become totally immoral.

[@clarabow7077]

Thank you, Ronald Reagan: the beginning of the end for the middle-class, the exponential growth of the division between the rich and the poor.

[@andreah6379]

Bingo. 🎯 It's amazing how CONservatives have mythologized this demented, sociopathic president. He made some ppl rich, screwed everybody else for decades. And we are still on that downward trajectory, with much help from corporate owned media.

[@sevensages5279]

Ronald Reagan was bad for blue collar families, but the dems as a whole, have sadly abandoned them as well.

[@MartinScreeton]

We need Direct Federal payments bypassing the state administrations... many of which do not support welfare programs... and as the author points out... just keep the money.

[@sewsewsewist785]

Iowa is the worst.

[@Musthi834]

Unfortunately some states get rewarded when they decrease the number of recipients. The governors are unashamed of the number of their citizens in poverty; many or almost all "red" states.

[@ProgressiveVegan]

Damian Paletta, Thank you for making this interview happen. I have the impression from how you held up prof. Desmond's book at the end that you care about poverty. This is how journalism should work in my view. Kudos. Desmond's book, and work are important.

[@LMLewis]

In some countries, people get a tax break if the income they reported came from more than one job, recognizing that commuting to two jobs costs more than commuting to one, and having less free time incurs extra costs, too; like child care, for example.

[@bcase5328]

The shame of there being working people/families who are poor, even homeless in the US.

[@kedoh75]

In Germany we see commercials asking for money to feed Americans and to help the homeless find housing.

[@annaynely]

Ppl need to be educated about how poverty affects everyone in devastating ways even affects the affluent if they really thought about.

[@fastfoodi]

This man's words are a heavenly breath of fresh air . It is shocking to see how far utterly the US has morally debased itself.

[@renskedj]

I was on a christian forum since I'm christian but I'm Dutch. There was an older American guy who kept bragging about how much money he had and he had some chevrolets. There was a single mom who did not even ask for money, but was just venting that the school kicked her kids out of it cause she couldnt pay cause her mother refused to pay her own part of the rent. So I said wow that's evil. They'd never do that in Holland. If parents can't pay the kids can go for free. Mr. Moneybag gets mad. Turned out he had been a director at a christian private school. Unbelievable. Private schools? Those are for the rich. Who goes to a private school. He said she should not have fornicated and it was her own fault and she shouldnt be so lazy to work part time as a nurse. She should work full time. And dump the small kids non stop with her dad?? Take em with her? How can you be so hard and evil? And his own wife of course never had to lift a finger and could play housewife. I got so mad. I threw an article from this guy at him and a song from the Dutch socialist party that says if you can't share richess you have completely failed as a human. A pity that I couldnt post the video from Jesus getting mad at the money grabbers in the temple cause they banned me. If people are selfish okay bad enough, but to then call yourself christian and attack a single mom? I was really shocked. How evil. kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zne3m42dmZdmp5Isi=lLnjHI8GcCyp8x2u

[@renskedj]

Songtext An animal is more than a piece of meat A person is more than a consumer A country is more than a limited company What you do is what you are A school is not a market And healthcare is not a product Those who cannot share wealth Have failed as a human being The rich West is not an island And Europe is not a fortress Those who are afraid of what is strange Are mainly shortchanging themselves Don't stand on the sidelines sulking Take action and show your courage Let your anger go hand in hand With the good you do vote for, vote SP

[@michaelfranklin.]

To achieve greatness, you need to start working towards it. Investing remains the smartest way to prepare for the future. Been into this for 8years and I'm extremely pleased with the good returns.The good news is, it's never too late to start investing.

[@christianaemilio1]

The first step to success is figuring out your goals and risk tolerance - either on your own or with the help of a financial advisor. If you can get the facts about savings and investing with a well detailed plan, you should be able to gain financial security over the years and enjoy the benefits of managing your income.

[@c.moeller]

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[@luis-gabriel1]

@@c.moeller That's great, your investment advisor must be really good, I have seen testimonies of people using the help of investment advisors in making them more financially stable. Do you mind sharing more info on how to reach your Investment advisor?

[@c.moeller]

You can communicate with him on telegam using the user name information below.

[@c.moeller]

WHCOURTNEY.

[@christineanderson4755]

This interview is inherently valuable information. If I had a dollar for every decent and kind sociology professor I met doing my degree I would be a little richer. (It wasn’t my major 😀) The older I get - I’m 61, the more poverty and injustice in Canada concerns me. I have always been involved on the periphery of the topic, small connections to education, events, real life, etc. So much of what he, the author, said stimulated a genuine desire to keep reading and learning about the politics of poverty. Thank you for this.

[@Musthi834]

In Canada? Poverty? As prevalent as U.S.?

[@chesterfinecat7588]

Give the poor money, the more the better. It's what we do with the rich so fair is fair.

[@duncanbleak3819]

Nobody who works a full time job should be in poverty. The minimum wage adjusted for inflation would be above $20 an hour. A great first step.

[@andreah6379]

Professor Robert Reich said it this way: 2009 min.wage $7.25. 2010 min wage $7.25 2011 min wage $7.25 2012 min wage $7.25 2013 min wage $7.25 2014 min wage $7.25 2015 min wage $7.25 2016 min wage $7.25 2017 min wage $7.25 2018 min wage $7.25 2019 min wage $7.25 2020 min wage $7.25 2021 min wage $7.25 2022 min wage $7.25 2023 no change. This makes the picture clear.

[@alfredocamacho9159]

I have a story to tell. It’s a story of poverty and a life long influence many have lived and will continue to do so for an eternity. Matthew Desmond or any other writer/journalist have never seen this side of the poverty spectrum.

[@walentystankiewicz8486]

How to live on 20$ per hour, millions of people will never see 20$ in their life, why we are so poor? Is there any hope for the working class in the future?

[@clairejeannette8454]

THANK YOU!

[@lindaleesoderstrom5866]

Our existing systems are broken and operating absolutely as planned and ordained. Small populations of poor people, competing with each other, hating on attributes of the others. Higher ups love for us to beat each other up, as it keeps us distracted, from changing un~equal delivery of opportunities.

[@twhite8308]

🧡Love🧡this🧡video🧡

[@dr.aniasara7038]

True. Thank you for being a "WE" person. America somehow worked its way into the classes. Even people who like to pretend by association that they're better than others. There's a separation with huge egos. "I can do this and you can't, therefore I am better than you, and can control you."

[@howielisnoff]

I’m a middle-class guy living amid lots and lots of money. There’s amazing comfort and money here and very little in the way of affordable housing. What strikes me most here is the constant spending going on, mostly to enhance already fancy homes. The homes are mostly second homes.

[@irisn.garcia5883]

So true, and so so heartbreaking😥

[@Empowerman]

And #LearnMMT!!!! That will give huge insights into what goes on in the States...and WHY!!!

[@OnlineMD]

I am Indian-American and became a US citizen almost 50 years ago. As the years have gone by, I have become more and more ashamed of America. The country is governed by RUTHLESS CAPITALISM. There was a delightful 1963 movie called "Its a Mad Mad Mad Mad World." In it, a bunch of people try to figure out how to split a potential treasure among them. They could not come to an agreement, and one man glibly said "There's only one way to figure it: Every Man For HImself."

[@Musthi834]

Raja the sociologist urges us to become poverty abolitionists. Every 'man" can do something. if nothing else than just telling our congressional representatives why we feel ashamed. Make waves when you can. As an Asian Indian and citizen of 51 years I suggest reading Bernie's latest book: It is Ok to be angry at Capitalism

[@andreah6379]

One law, rule should be that no one should ever be a billionaire. What is wrong with any human that they can't be satisfied and happy with $999,999,999???!! Nobody needs 5 luxury yachts, or 5 estate mansions, millionaire $$$ cars, while anybody around them is homeless or starving. You meet these greedy uber rich and all they do, all they are consumed with is obtaining more & more money by picking more pockets, buying more soulless politicians so that they alone have even more $$$$ & power.

[@OnlineMD]

@Andrea H to your great thoughts I add this: the super rich are like tornadoes sucking the wealth of countless humans. Swirling and sucking. And no end in sight. I don't donate to any political campaign anymore because the minute they get into power, the lobbyists descend on them like swarms of locusts, helping the rich get even richer. 🙄

[@michiellio69109]

@@andreah6379 I believe that this ethos is damaging not only to the people that are suffering because of it, but to the people who benefit by it. I believe the owners of luxury goods cannot form a connection with others beyond money. One way to alleviate such bankruptcy of spirit is to be a good steward of the monetary rewards that the rest of us have bestowed upon them. They amassed their unprecedented fortunes by exploiting the rest of us.

[@lexa_power]

Capitalism is the root of all evil

[@MountainGirlwIPA]

I also read the same thing regarding meth after homelessness. It makes sense now that I think about it. Great book btw : )

[@lavamonster]

The fact that this has only 10,000 views after a month proves Desmond right. No one wants to hear the truth, and very few people are willing to be apart of the solution

[@mikerunser902]

One thing to talk about it. Totally a different thing to act upon it.. being homeless for 11 yrs now I can personally attest that affluent folks demonize & criminalize homeless as a plage or infliction.

[@annaynely]

This is ocurring in western world & countries spain, france, italy, germany etc we arw in techno-feudalism era. Yanis Varoufakis

[@lexa_power]

Thanks for this! This is a fantastic book as well as “Evicted.” Matthew spreads so much great awareness on this topic. This should be required reading in high school and college instead of a lot of the garbage legacy “classics” they force on everyone.

[@rbj5767]

❣️⚡

[@lokijordan]

I'm glad to hear Mr. Desmond talk about the value of integrating schools and neighborhoods. I wish there had been some mention of adding money management and investing to school curriculum as early as elementary school. Few of the young people I've worked with over the past ten years have any idea what to do, where to begin. I think that could help head off future poverty.

[@nonatre3602]

You can't manage money you don't have.

[@lokijordan]

@@nonatre3602 If you can afford a forty ounce, you can afford some penny stocks. I literally worked two jobs for about six months to get started investing. It became THE priority after working around wealthy people and listening to how they got there. First, though, I made sure to set aside an emergency fund (about six months worth of rent and basic utilities). That simple act will open your mind to all sorts of potential opportunities because it gives you space to breathe- or should I say, dream. You can do it. It's just a matter of deciding which route you want to take and then taking that first step.

[@lokijordan]

@@nonatre3602 2nd note: We give our time and have that converted into money. So you may have to change the way you "manage" your time. I was working waiting tables, but I NEVER applied at Olive Garden or Dennys because the money was terrible there. And they wanted you to work too long an hard. THAT is money management. Remember: Jay-Z and Beyonce have the exact same number of hours in their days as you and I. They manage theirs differently. So, their money is different.

[@nonatre3602]

@@lokijordan Why mention Jay-Z and Beyonce? LOL You are so transparent from your mom's basement. 🤣

[@bhmcrumbs1348]

Poverty is about the rich & corruption

[@jamesbelcher9588]

14:32 "I'm saving up so I can buy an hour of your time. How much for an hour to play with me?"

[@bethabdallah6518]

Exploitation of the poor in the labor market AND they've got AI taking over many os those jobs. Then what?

[@brandondiaz9657]

At least we're not trying to change the definition of poverty, unlike some countries. (🇨🇳)

[@hsingkao2024]

Why? Politicians and capitalists don’t care.

[@dnnsmtchll]

why is a business editor hosting this ????????????????????????????????????????/

[@trapezeoidthreelobed7683]

Every News Machine has a Business editor, but who has a Labour Editor?

[@larrycoldwater1964]

So the solution is to “encourage”rich people to pay their taxes - we need a conversation not a revolution. Biden 2024!

[@nonatre3602]

He seems to get it. Which is why I am baffled that he supported the racist, classist Michael Bloomberg's policies over Bernie Sanders.

[@larrycoldwater1964]

I think it’s all too hard. The best solution is to keep things exactly as they are. Biden 2024!

[@007trudig]

I'm an octogenarian. I pay a couple, immigrants, $200. For 2 hours of cleaning house. I drive a 20 year old car. They drive a Lexus. If they can get that for house cleaning, so can a lot of poor women. Have a baby? Bring it with you, I will hold it and love it while you clean. Need coffee? There's the pods for the machine. I think there is more work than people who want to work.