So Rich, So Poor: Why Its So Hard to End Poverty in America

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Before we have one more discussion of how America can combat its persistent and growing levels of poverty, could everyone please read this book? Much has changed in forty-five years, but as Peter eloquently reminds us, far too many Americans remain trapped in the web of economic injustice.

His compassionate and singular voice awakens our conscience and calls us to action.

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Peter Edelman is masterful on the issue. With a real-world grasp of politics and the economy, Edelman makes a brilliantly compelling case for what can and must be done. Books by Peter Edelman. Not a Crime to Be Poor. The Criminalization of Poverty in America.

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So Rich, So Poor: Why It’s So Hard to End Poverty in America

The Rock and the Hard Place. Return to Book Page. So Rich, So Poor: Yet the income-level disparity in this country is now wider than at any point since the Great Depression. How can some be so rich, while others are so poor? Kennedy and a lifelong antipoverty advocate, offers an informed analysis of how this country can be so wealthy yet have a steadily growing number of unemployed and working poor.

According to Edelman, we have taken important positive steps without which 25 to 30 million more people would be poor, but poverty fluctuates with the business cycle. So Rich, So Poor delves into what is happening to the people behind the statistics and takes a particular look at the continuing crisis of young people of color, whose possibility of a productive life too often is lost on their way to adulthood. This is crucial reading for anyone who wants to understand the most critical American dilemma of the twenty-first century.

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So Rich, So Poor: Why It's So Hard to End Poverty in America

To ask other readers questions about So Rich, So Poor , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Jan 07, Kat rated it it was ok Shelves: If you know absolutely nothing about poverty and are not bothered too much by poorly research political and historical texts, this is a good overview of the history of poverty in the United States mostly s through s. What do I mean by poorly researched? Most of Edelman's support for his assertions comes from newspaper articles or his own personal impressions from working as a youth for Robert Kennedy for a short period while Kennedy was heavily involved in reforming food stamps.

While If you know absolutely nothing about poverty and are not bothered too much by poorly research political and historical texts, this is a good overview of the history of poverty in the United States mostly s through s. While newspapers are not an illegitimate source, especially well respected newspapers, it still indicates that Edelman is content to rely on someone else's interpretation of data and facts rather than his own. In cases where it's impractical or impossible to get the data himself, I find that acceptable.

But in this case, a simple public records act request would get him the same raw data the newspaper journalist had. Regarding his personal experience "evidence" - the problem with having "been there" is that you have a natural bias to your experiences are some how objective and truth rather than the highly subjective and very limited view of a single person. Edelman demonstrates keep lack of awareness of how limited his view of those event is by making broad, sweeping statements about the intentions and motivations of other politicians that he has absolutely no ability to support.

If you're going to try to win me over to a point of view on an important political and social issue, I need to believe you are trustworthy. With such biased and unsupported statements, it's hard for me to feel confident that his other statements are accurate. That being said, this book does walk through some major historical moments in this country's intermittent efforts to address poverty including the history of food stamps and the evolution of the "poverty line" calculation.

However, these discussions are very high-level and provide little to know understanding beyond what an mildly aware person would know or be able to easily surmise. Furthermore, his discussions are highly repetitive. While repetition is the path to committing information to long-term memory, it's only really required when you are either addressing someone who is not paying attention or not too bright, or you are communicating complex or detailed information.

Since he provides no detail or complexity, I can only assume he thinks I'm dumb or he acknowledges that his writing style has a tendency to make his readers' minds wander. Mar 06, Zenni Duong rated it liked it. Edelman's text was not a difficult read, and provided anecdotal pieces as well as a lot of his own understanding of contemporary social policy. As someone without expertise in such an area, I appreciated that he identified a few key policies to note and communicated thoughts and jargon quite clearly.

I actually found it a bit difficult to follow the organization of this book, in regards to both how chapters are organized among themselves and the content of each chapter. However, I must note that Edelman's text was not a difficult read, and provided anecdotal pieces as well as a lot of his own understanding of contemporary social policy. However, I must note that I did not consistently read it over the past few months- just something I picked up from time to time.

It's not utterly comprehensive, but I suppose it is a nice nuanced introduction into the field. Dec 15, Kevin rated it it was amazing. We've got a lot of work to do to address poverty. Makes me feel both hopeless and hopeful. Mar 26, Ruth Ann rated it liked it Shelves: The strength of this book is Edelman's historical summary of the U. He begins with Roosevelt's New Deal but the majority of the book focuses on 's's. I became familiar with how the welfare system was cut during the Reagan administration and how it was completely dismantled in when Clinton was in office.

But even though welfare as an entitlement no longer existed, the poor received assistance from SNAP Supplemental Nutrition Assistance whic The strength of this book is Edelman's historical summary of the U. Though there were statistics and facts to illustrate the number of people living in poverty and the percentage of Americans living below the poverty line at various times in history, I thought too much of the analysis was biased opinion.

For example, when talking about education reform, he states that charter schools and Teach for America are positive steps but he doesn't cite any studies or research to support his opinion. Hmm - I detect bias here and it made me question some of the author's other conclusions. Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America. Confronting Suburban Poverty in America. Review "A competent, thorough assessment from a veteran expert in the field.

The New Press May 29, Language: Start reading So Rich, So Poor: Don't have a Kindle? Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. Read reviews that mention safety net rich and poor food stamps peter edelman end poverty middle class single parent eye opening robert kennedy social security war on poverty great book public policy hard to end poverty in america poverty level poor people many people like this book jobs. Showing of 32 reviews. Top Reviews Most recent Top Reviews. There was a problem filtering reviews right now.

Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. I agree with the author but even if you don't agree with how badly we treat our fellow citizens you probably will be surprised by which presidents and congresses helped people and which didn't. Of course none have helped anywhere near enough yet. How often do we look at a problem and have no earthly idea how it can be fixed.

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I work downtown in a large urban area, and I feel like the Native American with the tear running down his cheek, when I look around these neighborhoods. So Rich, So Poor increased my compassion and critical thought about the war on poverty. America is still the greatest country in the world. It's the ideas featured in this book that lead me to believe we can still be great.

Thanks for the eye opening experience. This is a through exploration of the American problem of poverty.

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I found most informative Edelman's tracing of the drug laws, to more imprisoned minorities, to single women head of household, to low wages for women, to increased poverty in the nation. I took away one star because excessive documentation at times made difficult reading. One of the best books on poverty I've read in a while. Edelman has a clear worldview, which some people will be turned off by, but I appreciate that his work tries to offer solutions instead of constantly beating the dead horse of what has gone wrong.

A great overview of the issues related to poverty in America. The book contains a lot of sound facutual information not just opinions and philosophy. Professor Edelman brings a rich and diverse experience to the issue. This is very readable and I highly recommend it. Although I don't support all of Edelman's comments about the right, he does clear up the welfare myths I believed for years.

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