Poverty, by America

In Chapter 6, “How We Buy Opportunity,” Desmond introduces the phenomena of people relying less on public services as they become wealthier. As a result, they no longer see the value of public services and cut funding from them, depriving those who still need such services. Desmond argues that this situation has created a two-tier system in American society, in which the privileged and the poor operate in different spheres with very different resources and outcomes, further exacerbating issues of poverty and inequality.

One of the signature examples in recent US history is the legacy of “white flight” from the cities to the suburbs, building schools and parks that were no less segregated than those under the Jim Crow South, while banks refused mortgages to Black families who attempted a similar move. The result was a sharp deterioration in public infrastructure within cities such that one class of people had no need for government services while another did not trust them. Desmond argues that class segregation bears some similarities to racial segregation: Poverty continues to disproportionately affect racial minorities in many parts of the country, and the stark divide between the privileged and the impoverished has led to the poor being physically excluded from neighborhoods and schools associated with those of the more privileged classes.