Intentional Poverty

 This is another one of those books by a very informed author that infuriates the morally and ethically conscious reader. It details the laws and tax breaks and outright prejudice that perpetuate poverty in the richest country in the history of the planet. Mr. Desmond, a Princeton professor who has 'risen' economically from a poor childhood through both hard work and public subsidies, is the first to recognize the white privileges he has benefited from. He also deconstructs all the biased myths people use to blame the poor for their condition by detailing the  policies that favor the middle class and the wealthy; he explains how the banking, housing, welfare and other institutions really work to keep the poor, poor. It is a sobering but not surprising viewpoint easily recognized by anyone who has worked two jobs to pay bills or has watched others do so. He somewhat regretfully concludes that the persistent inequality in America exists because we "want it to", or at least, those with power do. I do not know if that is the 'deep state' the Trump fanatics wish to dismantle, but their savior is one of the biggest beneficiaries of the present system and Trump will do all he can to perpetuate it. But the present rules benefit people in both parties, and they do whatever they can to sustain them. As Ella Baker, civil rights activist, said, "Those who are well-heeled don't want to get un-well heeled."  or, as Mr. Desmond says, " Follow the money, all of it, and you can see how a trend toward private opulence and public squalor has come to define not simply a handful of communities, but the whole nation."  I personally wonder why so many Americans are so disgruntled, or rather, so unappreciative of their relative wealth and good fortune, but I am a minimalist who knows truly the difference between needs and wants. That distinction seems to have become confused in some people.