m att h e w des m ond DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1.
What was your experience reading Poverty, by America? What three words describe that experience, and why?
2. D esmond defines poverty as “a tight knot of social problems,” breaking with conventional definitions that focus only on low incomes. What are the implications of this view? How would you define poverty? 3. “ We’ve been trained to see the poor as idle and unmotivated since the earliest days of capitalism,” says Desmond. He also writes that “these old tropes and stereotypes are dying.” When have you experienced these tropes and stereotypes? Do you think their power is in fact waning? 4. “ To understand the causes of poverty, we must look beyond the poor,” notes Desmond from the outset, “which makes this a book about poverty that is not just about the poor. Instead, it’s a book about how the other half lives, about how some lives are made small so that others may grow.” How does this focus deepen the author’s arguments and proposed solutions? 5. R eflect on the statement: “some lives are made small so that others may grow.” What does that mean to you, and how does it relate to poverty in America? 6. What did you learn from Poverty, by America that surprised you? 7. In 1961, James Baldwin remarked how “extremely expensive it is to be poor.” What might that mean in 2023? 8. “ America’s poverty is not for lack of resources. We lack something else.” What do we, as a country, and as a citizenry, lack in this context? 9. P overty in America is often invisible, but it can also be very public. When you see a tent encampment, or homeless people sleeping on the sidewalk, what goes through your mind? What questions do you ask yourself? 10. Through his research, Desmond discovered that billions of dollars set aside for assistance to the poor remains unclaimed. Why do you think this is? 11. R ace and racism are pressing issues in America’s poverty crisis. Desmond writes: “Anti-Black racism hardens Americans’ antagonism toward social benefits.” Do you see this antagonism in your family, in your social circle, in your community? How might you address it? 12. Desmond writes: “Those who benefit most from government largesse—generally white families with accountants— harbor the strongest anti-government views.” Explain this disconnect. 13. “As people accumulate more money,” Desmond writes, “they become less dependent on public goods and, in turn, less interested in supporting them.” What does this mean for public schools and public transportation? How does this translate toward feelings for government workers? What are the consequences of advancing privatization?