The tragic reality of poverty in the United States is that the number of people living on less than $3 a day has tripled over the last 35 years, soaring to over four million citizens. This worsening crisis occurs even as the US boasts immense national wealth and productivity.
This backward trend is a result of systematic policy choices, not market failure. Tax cuts, reductions to safety nets, and tariffs that increase consumer prices have all acted to deepen inequality and structurally harm lower-income households.
The policy failure stands in stark contrast to China, which successfully eradicated extreme poverty for nearly a billion people during the same timeframe. The poorest 10% of Americans now receive only 1.8% of national income, a share worse than in many developing nations.