#54: The Poverty Paradox: Understanding Economic Hardship Amid American Prosperity with Mark Robert Rank

Dr. Rank is widely recognized as one of the foremost experts and speakers in the country on issues of poverty, inequality, and social justice. His research and teaching have focused on poverty, social welfare, economic inequality, and social policy. Dr. Rank has published numerous scholarly articles.

His first book, Living on the Edge: The Realities of Welfare in America, explored the conditions of surviving on public assistance and achieved widespread critical acclaim. His 2004 book, One Nation, Underprivileged: Why American Poverty Affects Us All, provided a new understanding of poverty in America.

I spoke to him about his latest book The Poverty Paradox: Understanding Economic Hardship Amid American Prosperity

Some of the topics we discussed includes: 

• The main viewpoint of poverty and why its something Mark has argued against it in the book
• The different ways 'poverty' has been defined.
• The forces behind poverty:  The failure at structural rather than individual level.
• How the system is designed for everyone to buy into the American Dream, rags to riches story despite the low levels of economic mobility. 
• Human Capital 
•  Investing on children on the front end,  (reducing childhood poverty) rather than on the back end (spending  in the future due).
• How compared to other developed nations the US assist and spend the least on the vulnerable.
• Why has government programmes so far not really worked?
• Are there reasons to be optimistic for the future? 

 The Book and Audiobook:  The Poverty Paradox: Understanding Economic Hardship Amid American Prosperity is out now.

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