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audreylee's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.0
A thoughtful way of looking at poverty in America. It is nice to have an informative look at poverty where it isn't made into a moral failure.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racism and Classism
aqtbenz's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
zombiezami's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
2.0
I genuinely don't understand why people are praising this book. It's giving radical moderation. The social problems that Desmond describes are very real and important to address, but his conclusions do not follow from the evidence or from how capitalism works.
Desmond's main argument is that it's necessary to be a poverty abolitionist (definitely agree), and that it's possible to abolish poverty and exploitation without dismantling capitalism (wtf?). I don't know how you study the kinds of things Desmond studies in the way that he's studied them and come to that conclusion. He believes it's possible to end poverty by persuading congress to strengthen the IRS to go after rich people who haven't paid their fair share of taxes. Sis, who do you think funds congress and made it so that's the case??
Rich people didn't just forget to pay their taxes. Congress didn't just neglect to collect those taxes. The author seems very invested in a just-world fallacy, and I hope he realizes that soon. It's well known at this point that Exxon found out decades ago that climate change was happening and that human activity, notably fossil fuel use, was causing it. Rather than doing anything to alert the public and help people prepare or divest from fossil fuels, they funded misinformation campaigns that have undermined climate activism to this day. Fast forward to now, rich people are buying bunkers in the hopes of escaping the impact of their actions on the planet and on the people they exploit. The ultra wealthy have a fundamentally different morality. They have to in order to justify having so much while others suffer and die from preventable causes.
Another frustration is that, when the author was talking about people who are in his tax bracket, who are presumably the primary audience for this book, he repeatedly uses the pronoun "we." Are we speaking French? Who is we???
Desmond's main argument is that it's necessary to be a poverty abolitionist (definitely agree), and that it's possible to abolish poverty and exploitation without dismantling capitalism (wtf?). I don't know how you study the kinds of things Desmond studies in the way that he's studied them and come to that conclusion. He believes it's possible to end poverty by persuading congress to strengthen the IRS to go after rich people who haven't paid their fair share of taxes. Sis, who do you think funds congress and made it so that's the case??
Rich people didn't just forget to pay their taxes. Congress didn't just neglect to collect those taxes. The author seems very invested in a just-world fallacy, and I hope he realizes that soon. It's well known at this point that Exxon found out decades ago that climate change was happening and that human activity, notably fossil fuel use, was causing it. Rather than doing anything to alert the public and help people prepare or divest from fossil fuels, they funded misinformation campaigns that have undermined climate activism to this day. Fast forward to now, rich people are buying bunkers in the hopes of escaping the impact of their actions on the planet and on the people they exploit. The ultra wealthy have a fundamentally different morality. They have to in order to justify having so much while others suffer and die from preventable causes.
Another frustration is that, when the author was talking about people who are in his tax bracket, who are presumably the primary audience for this book, he repeatedly uses the pronoun "we." Are we speaking French? Who is we???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Suicide, Abortion, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
emmas_bookshelf's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.5
Desmond walks the reader through the policies and oppressive systems that keep the impoverished down while offering tax breaks and welfare to the middle and upper classes. It was really fascinating to see the statistics and facts about how intertwined housing, class, race, and our economic systems work to keep people disenfranchised while offering breaks to the wealthy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Classism
kbbru's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Racism and Gaslighting