Matthew Desmond

Right. Well, a lot of that because we were quiet. We were quiet. We dropped evictions to the lowest they've been ever on record. We did the most for poor kids we've done since the war on poverty and the Great Society. And there was not a lot of us saying, this is the new America that we want. We weren't writing our congressperson. We weren't talking to our neighbor about it. We were quiet.

Right. Well, a lot of that because we were quiet. We were quiet. We dropped evictions to the lowest they've been ever on record. We did the most for poor kids we've done since the war on poverty and the Great Society. And there was not a lot of us saying, this is the new America that we want. We weren't writing our congressperson. We weren't talking to our neighbor about it. We were quiet.

And in our silence, like 5 million more kids got tossed into poverty the next year.

And in our silence, like 5 million more kids got tossed into poverty the next year.

YEAH, THERE'S SOMETHING TO THAT. BUT ONE THING THAT BLEW ME AWAY, I THINK THE THING THAT BLEW ME AWAY WRITING THIS BOOK IS THAT IF YOU LOOK AT EVERYTHING THE GOVERNMENT DOES FOR US, All those poverty programs that flow to the poorest families, like food stamps, social insurance, like Social Security, but also tax breaks. You got to count tax breaks.

YEAH, THERE'S SOMETHING TO THAT. BUT ONE THING THAT BLEW ME AWAY, I THINK THE THING THAT BLEW ME AWAY WRITING THIS BOOK IS THAT IF YOU LOOK AT EVERYTHING THE GOVERNMENT DOES FOR US, All those poverty programs that flow to the poorest families, like food stamps, social insurance, like Social Security, but also tax breaks. You got to count tax breaks.

You know, they cost the government money and they put money in my pocket. If you add all that up, you learn that the average family in the bottom 20% of the income distribution, so our poorest families, they're receiving about $26,000 a year from the government. Okay. So the average family in the top 20% are richest families. They're receiving about $35,000 a year from the government.

You know, they cost the government money and they put money in my pocket. If you add all that up, you learn that the average family in the bottom 20% of the income distribution, so our poorest families, they're receiving about $26,000 a year from the government. Okay. So the average family in the top 20% are richest families. They're receiving about $35,000 a year from the government.

Say that again? So this is the true nature of our welfare state. They're getting about 40% more than the poorest families. And then we have like the audacity The shamelessness to look at a program that would like reduce child poverty or make sure all of us had access to a dentist and be like, gosh, how could we afford it?

Say that again? So this is the true nature of our welfare state. They're getting about 40% more than the poorest families. And then we have like the audacity The shamelessness to look at a program that would like reduce child poverty or make sure all of us had access to a dentist and be like, gosh, how could we afford it?

So, you know, a lot of folks just look at that income tax and they'll say the poor aren't paying taxes. But that's like counting calories only by counting what you had for breakfast. Right. You know, and so if you're looking at the whole tax structure, you see, you know, a lot of the poor working class, middle class folks are paying the same tax levy as rich folks.

So, you know, a lot of folks just look at that income tax and they'll say the poor aren't paying taxes. But that's like counting calories only by counting what you had for breakfast. Right. You know, and so if you're looking at the whole tax structure, you see, you know, a lot of the poor working class, middle class folks are paying the same tax levy as rich folks.

The folks that have the lowest tax burden in the country, of course, are richest families. Makes no sense. But we're not bad people. No.

The folks that have the lowest tax burden in the country, of course, are richest families. Makes no sense. But we're not bad people. No.

What would you say? So I think we've got to do three things. We've got to deepen our investments in fighting poverty. We've got to get back to those big, bold programs that we had in the Great Society. We saw what we could do in COVID. What were some of those programs that you would... So we expanded Social Security. We created Medicaid and Medicare. We expanded educational opportunities.

What would you say? So I think we've got to do three things. We've got to deepen our investments in fighting poverty. We've got to get back to those big, bold programs that we had in the Great Society. We saw what we could do in COVID. What were some of those programs that you would... So we expanded Social Security. We created Medicaid and Medicare. We expanded educational opportunities.

These are deep investments in the poorest families in the country. Right. So we need to get back to that. We can fund that by fair tax implementation. So the IRS chair a few years ago told Congress that we lose a trillion dollars a year, a trillion on tax cheating and evasion.

These are deep investments in the poorest families in the country. Right. So we need to get back to that. We can fund that by fair tax implementation. So the IRS chair a few years ago told Congress that we lose a trillion dollars a year, a trillion on tax cheating and evasion.

Right. I think we need to move back to that question, which I think is this second piece of the puzzle. We need to have new ways of empowering the poor. We need to find a way to build worker power, to expand housing choice, to finally take on all the ways they're getting financially soaked by banks and payday lenders in the country. And so this is a way... Why is that so hard?

Right. I think we need to move back to that question, which I think is this second piece of the puzzle. We need to have new ways of empowering the poor. We need to find a way to build worker power, to expand housing choice, to finally take on all the ways they're getting financially soaked by banks and payday lenders in the country. And so this is a way... Why is that so hard?