Nguyet Tran
Insightful read. The book attributes Poverty in the States to systemic reasons.
1. Lacking labor rights. Many people have to work for subminimum wages and can be fired easily without compensation.
2. Misused funding. Different states are using funding for the wrong purposes instead of directly supporting people in need.
3. Lacking banking support. Many high fees or high minimum balance required. Many low-income people have to use a third-party service to receive their salary, and lose a part of their income for it. Additionally, they cannot get access to certain loans, mortgages, and have to subject themselves to excessive rent (much higher than mortgages) or loan sharks.
4. Segregated communities prevent low-income people from receiving the same benefits as the other groups, which impacts their education, lifestyles, etc.
5. Inaccessible support. Many supports are difficult to get, costly, or unbeknownst to people in need.
The author convincingly argues that poor people stay poor due to the system. He also provides research results showing that if these are changed, many benefits are reaped. However, the solution is a bit naive, in my opinion.
The book would have been worth 5 stars if he could argue that investment in poverty abolishment could bring better economic impact than other investments.
Additionally, a non-segregated community is difficult to achieve. As a middle-class woman growing up in a developing country and currently living in a poorer part of a developed country's capital, I understand why segregation exists. Even the author agrees that in the non-segregated community where he used to live in, there were day crimes in the park. The author says the benefit is a welcoming and diverse community, but I would rather live in an aloof but safer community.
Insightful read. The book attributes Poverty in the States to systemic reasons.
1. Lacking labor rights. Many people have to work for subminimum wages and can be fired easily without compensation.
2. Misused funding. Different states are using funding for the wrong purposes instead of directly supporting people in need.
3. Lacking banking support. Many high fees or high minimum balance required. Many low-income people have to use a third-party service to receive their salary, and lose a part of their income for it. Additionally, they cannot get access to certain loans, mortgages, and have to subject themselves to excessive rent (much higher than mortgages) or loan sharks.
4. Segregated communities prevent low-income people from receiving the same benefits as the other groups, which impacts their education, lifestyles, etc.
5. Inaccessible support. Many supports are difficult to get, costly, or unbeknownst to people in need.
The author convincingly argues that poor people stay poor due to the system. He also provides research results showing that if these are changed, many benefits are reaped. However, the solution is a bit naive, in my opinion.
The book would have been worth 5 stars if he could argue that investment in poverty abolishment could bring better economic impact than other investments.
Additionally, a non-segregated community is difficult to achieve. As a middle-class woman growing up in a developing country and currently living in a poorer part of a developed country's capital, I understand why segregation exists. Even the author agrees that in the non-segregated community where he used to live in, there were day crimes in the park. The author says the benefit is a welcoming and diverse community, but I would rather live in an aloof but safer community.