Poverty, by America: A Book Discussion
Sunday July 14 and August 11 @ 12:15 pm in ARE room
"To understand the causes of poverty, we must look beyond the poor. Those of us living lives of privilege and plenty must examine ourselves… Most government aid goes to families that need it the least. If you add up the amount that the government is dedicating to tax breaks — mortgage interest deduction, wealth transfer tax breaks, tax breaks we get on our retirement accounts, our health insurance, our college savings accounts — you learn that we are doing so much more to subsidize affluence than to alleviate poverty… And this is the way we designed it.” - Matthew Desmond
This exercise asks you to read Matthew Desmond’s highly celebrated book, Poverty, by America.
As the above quotation suggests, it is a book that challenges those of us in the middle and moderately affluent classes to look at the ways we knowingly and unknowingly keep poor people poor. This is not a role we are used to. When it comes to economic injustice, we privileged liberals are much more comfortable naming the problems than being named as the problem.
But alongside that discomfort lies a feeling of being liberated. Desmond is not out to guilt his reader. Rather, his aim is empowerment and understanding. You will leave this book with more compassion, more commitment, and a clearer path forward.
If you are looking to join a social justice project, this is the one being done by the Adult Religious Education
Childcare provided upon request. Please contact Teri Thomas, adult.re@uuch.org
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