The core truth of the American poverty crisis is that it is not the result of economic weakness or lack of national wealth—US output per person is six times China’s—but a product of deliberate political choices regarding wealth distribution.
These choices, including tax policies favoring the rich and cuts to safety-net programs, have created a structural inequality where the extreme poverty population ($3 a day or less) has tripled to over four million Americans.
This outcome is a profound contrast to China’s state-led success in eradicating extreme poverty for nearly a billion people. The poorest 10% of Americans receive a share of national income (1.8%) that ranks them worse than low-income groups in many developing nations.
