Fresh Air for March 21, 2023: Why American poverty is so entrenched Hear the Fresh Air program for March 21, 2023

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From WHYY in Philadelphia

An unhoused individual sleeps under an American flag blanket in New York City on Sept. 10, 2013. In 2021, approximately 11% of Americans lived below the federal poverty line. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Economy

Private opulence, public squalor: How the U.S. helps the rich and hurts the poor

Poverty, by America author Matthew Desmond says if the top 1% of Americans paid the taxes they owed, it would raise $175 billion each year: "That is just about enough to pull everyone out of poverty."

An unhoused individual sleeps under an American flag blanket in New York City on Sept. 10, 2013. In 2021, approximately 11% of Americans lived below the federal poverty line. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Private opulence, public squalor: How the U.S. helps the rich and hurts the poor

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Fresh AirFresh Air

From WHYY in Philadelphia