Poverty, by America

In Chapter 6, “How We Buy Opportunity,” Desmond introduces the phenomena of people relying less on public services as they become wealthier. As a result, they no longer see the value of public services and cut funding from them, depriving those who still need such services. Desmond argues that this situation has created a two-tier system in American society, in which the privileged and the poor operate in different spheres with very different resources and outcomes, further exacerbating issues of poverty and inequality.

One of the signature examples in recent US history is the legacy of “white flight” from the cities to the suburbs, building schools and parks that were no less segregated than those under the Jim Crow South, while banks refused mortgages to Black families who attempted a similar move. The result was a sharp deterioration in public infrastructure within cities such that one class of people had no need for government services while another did not trust them. Desmond argues that class segregation bears some similarities to racial segregation: Poverty continues to disproportionately affect racial minorities in many parts of the country, and the stark divide between the privileged and the impoverished has led to the poor being physically excluded from neighborhoods and schools associated with those of the more privileged classes.

The ethos of American capitalism also prizes those who purportedly succeed through their own efforts alone while castigating those who rely on government services as less capable or worthy. Consequently, the ideal is to make oneself independent of the government and to buy security and social mobility. Desmond asserts that this ideal is not only classist and damaging but also based on many inaccuracies: As Desmond points out, the wealthy actually rely heavily on government aid, albeit in less conspicuous forms than food stamps or public housing. Tax cuts that privilege the wealthy are no less a form of welfare, but they are often perceived as validating the merits of the supposedly productive class rather than as a handout. The wealthy are thus able to hoard their money and resources for themselves while depriving those in the lower classes of assistance whenever possible.

The perceived chasm between private and public convinces the ordinary citizen that they have nothing to do with poverty—that it is entirely up to the government to deal with those who need its services. Since they think of themselves as self-made, or at least receiving what they deserved, they do not see how their selective reliance and then gutting of public services makes it nearly impossible for those in poverty to escape it. It also precludes them from seeing how this artificial division corrodes the whole of social life, and not just for the poor. It trains the middle and upper classes to regard what they have with keen anxiety and to defend it fiercely against any perceived encroachment. Desmond thus argues that the only way forward is to undermine this division between the private sphere of the wealthy and the public sphere of the poor, merging the two together so they become more integrated and more likely to work as a cohesive whole.