But the country spent about $193 billion on homeowner tax subsidies and most of that money goes to families with six-figure incomes. Last year, I think something like $53 billion went into every single affordable housing program we have. Something I always used to bring up was the difference between the amount of money we spend on the mortgage interest deduction versus direct housing assistance to families that need it the most. One of the things that blew me away was how utterly imbalanced our welfare state is - and I’ve been on the housing beat for several years.

What was the biggest misconception you had about poverty before writing this book? In tandem, Desmond is also launching a new website,, that aims to connect people with more than 4,000 service providers, anti-poverty and legal aid organizations.ĭesmond spoke to The Times by phone about his new book - and the ways we can move the needle on poverty - for an interview that has been edited for length and clarity. But he also proposes solutions: investing in more anti-poverty programs stopping the exploitation of low-income workers and embracing the idea that everyone can prosper. He puts a clear challenge to readers, prodding us to face the uncomfortable question of how we are all implicated. “ Poverty, by America,” out this week, tackles the societal, systemic, structural and institutional issues that perpetuate poverty at large. But Desmond’s new follow-up is even more ambitious. “Evicted” won a Pulitzer Prize, became a bestseller and was named among the New York Times’ 10 best nonfiction books of the decade. Along with a website,, his research has opened readers’ eyes to just how many Americans are chronically on the verge of losing their homes. When Matthew Desmond published his first book, “ Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” in 2016, he set out to immerse himself in the everyday lives of people facing eviction. If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from, whose fees support independent bookstores.

Matthew desmond author