Broke in America, Joanne Samuel Goldblum
Broke in America, Joanne Samuel Goldblum
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Broke in America
Seeing, Understanding, and Ending U.S. Poverty

Author: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, Bomani Jones

Narrator: Joanne Samuel Goldblum, Colleen Shaddox, JD Jackson

Unabridged: 10 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/02/2021

Synopsis

Water. Food. Housing. The most basic and crucial needs for survival, yet 40 percent of people in the United States don't have the resources to get them. With key policy changes, we could eradicate poverty in this country within our lifetime-but we need to get started now.Nearly 40 million people in the United States live below the poverty line-about $26,200 for a family of four. Low-income families and individuals are everywhere, from cities to rural communities. While poverty is commonly seen as a personal failure, or a deficiency of character or knowledge, it's actually the result of bad policy.Public policy has purposefully erected barriers that deny access to basic needs, creating a society where people can easily become trapped-not because we lack the resources to lift them out, but because we are actively choosing not to. Poverty is close to inevitable for low-wage workers and their children, and a large percentage of these people, despite qualifying for it, do not receive government aid.From Joanne Samuel Goldblum and Colleen Shaddox, Broke in America offers an eye-opening and galvanizing look at life in poverty in this country: how circumstances and public policy conspire to keep people poor, and the concrete steps we can take to end poverty for good.In clear, accessible prose, Goldblum and Shaddox detail the ways the current system is broken and how it's failing so many of us. They also highlight outdated and ineffective policies that are causing or contributing to this unnecessary problem.Every chapter features action items readers can use to combat poverty-both nationwide and in our local communities, including the most effective public policies you can support and how to work hand-in-hand with representatives to affect change.So far, our attempted solutions have fallen short because they try to "fix" poor people rather than address the underlying problems. Fortunately, it's much easier to fix policy than people. Essential and timely, Broke in America offers a crucial road map for securing a brighter future.

About Joanne Samuel Goldblum

Joanne Samuel Goldblum is CEO and founder of the National Diaper Bank Network, encompassing more than 200 member organizations that provide diapers and other basic needs to families across America. In 2018, she founded the Alliance for Period Supplies, which provides free hygiene products to the one in four people for whom menstruation means difficulty attending school and work. Joanne has spent her career working with and advocating for families in poverty. She has written op-eds for Washington Post, US News & World Report, and HuffPost. She has been an ABC Person of the Week and the subject of profiles by CNN, People, and many other outlets. Joanne is an inspiring and in-demand speaker. In 2007, she was chosen as one of 10 Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leaders on the basis of her work to found the New Haven Diaper Bank.

About Colleen Shaddox

Colleen Shaddox is a print and radio journalist and activist. Her publication credits include New York Times, Washington Post, National Public Radio, America, and many more. She left daily newspapers when an editor reprimanded her for "writing too many stories about poor people" and went to work in a soup kitchen. She has had one foot in journalism and one in non-profits ever since. In states throughout the country, Colleen has worked on winning campaigns to get kids out of adult prisons, to end juvenile life without parole, and to limit shackling in juvenile courts. She is a frequently anthologized fiction writer. Her award-winning play, The Shakespeares, and other dramatic works have been performed around the country.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ben on September 16, 2022

1-10 Takeaways: 1) "Historically, the United States has approached poverty as a lack of knowledge; or, perhaps of character and ambition, when in fact it stems from a lack of resources." American's attitudes began to take a turn for the worse (especially conservatives) when Raegan started using term......more

Goodreads review by Andrea on February 24, 2021

This is an easy-to-read but thorough and eye-opening book. It addresses both the breadth and the depth of poverty in the US. It shows how intractable generational poverty is—how many Americans are denied even the most basic necessities, like clean water, which makes it impossible to create a better......more

Quotes

“This listen will educate—and infuriate. The authors and JD Jackson describe how poverty could be eradicated and why it hasn't been.… Jackson conveys just the right amount of exasperation, frustration, and understanding to make this a compelling listen. It's never preachy or academic.”
—AudioFile Magazine“An exploration of why so many Americans are struggling financially . . . A down-to-earth overview of the causes and effects of poverty and possible remedies.”
—Kirkus Reviews“...thoroughly accessible to the non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject of poverty in the United States and what can be done about it..”
—Midwest Book Review

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