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[…] the simple truth that poverty is an injury, a taking. Tens of millions of Americans do not end up poor by a mistake of history or personal conduct. Poverty persists because some wish and will it to.

This quote ends Chapter 2: Why Haven’t We Made More Progress?, the section devoted to exploring why poverty continues to be a problem in America despite the nation’s wealth and its success at using science to solve other difficult problems. In this passage, Desmond underscores his point that poverty is not a result of the actions of poor people. Instead, corporations and affluent Americans benefit from conditions that contribute to poverty. Desmond argues that while most people claim to want poverty to end, they simultaneously support the systems and policies that maintain inequality.

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