I'm Kia Miakana Tis, and this is NPR's Book of the Day. The persistence of poverty in America

can sometimes feel inevitable, as if dreaming of ending hunger and homelessness is unrealistic

or naive. But according to sociologists Matthew Desmond, ending poverty is a goal that

should and could be in our reach, if only we are willing to really look at the causes.

His new book, Poverty by America, explains that poverty continues to exist in one of the world's

wealthiest nations because the rest of our society benefits from it. Here he is with NPR's

Aisha Roscoe. In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life. Distant wars, murky conflicts,

diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods. NPR reporters on the ground

bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Why does a country as wealthy as the United States have so many living in poverty?

The reasons are many, predatory financial services, stagnant wages, rising housing costs.

In a new book, sociologist Matthew Desmond argues there's another reason

why poverty grows so persistently here because those who are better off benefit from it.

The book is called Poverty by America and Matthew Desmond joins us now. Welcome to the show.

Thank you so much for having me.

So how do the rest of us,

who are not in poverty, benefit by keeping people poor? We consume cheap goods and services.

We invest in companies that have a record of union busting and exploitation. We protect lavish tax breaks that accrue to the wealthiest Americans,

and that starves anti-poverty spending. And then we have the audacity to ask, how can we

afford to drive down poverty in this country, even though the country does a lot more to

subsidize affluence.

...