This felt more opinion than research, which is sad bc we need more books on this topic. I wish it had been better.

Broke in America Seeing Understanding and Ending US Poverty by Joanne Samuel Goldblum and Colleen Shaddox

310 Pages
Publisher: BenBella Books
Release Date: February 2, 2021

Nonfiction (Adult), Political Science, Multicultural Interest, Poverty, Basic Needs, Income, Finances, Resources, Human Interest, Oppression, Politics, Advocacy, Racism, Sexism

The book is divided into the following parts and chapters.

Chapter 1: Seeing US Poverty: Throwing Out the Caricature

Part I: Basic Needs
Chapter 2: Water: Running Dry
Chapter 3: Food: hungry in America
Chapter 4: Housing: No Place to Be Poor
Chapter 5: Power: Shut Off
Chapter 6: Transportation: Access Denied
Chapter 7: Hygiene: A Problem Swept Under the Rug
Chapter 8: Health: Health Does Not Equal Health Care

Part II: Forms of Oppression
Chapter 9: Racism: Stealing Homes
Chapter 10: Sexism: Women’s Work
Chapter 11: Denial of Political Power: Government Not of, by , or for Poor People
Chapter 12: Mental Health Discrimination: Poverty is Trauma
Chapter 13: High-Poverty Schools: Class Matters

Part III: Solutions
Chapter 14: Possibilities: The Poor Don’t Need to Be with You Always
Chapter 15: Advocacy: Making Change

This is a difficult book to read because of the subject matter. It is hard to learn of people suffering because of financial issues. It is hard to hear of homeless people being fined for being homeless with no way to pay the fines. It is hard reading about utilities being turned off and then liens placed on their homes forcing people to become homeless. At the end of each chapter, the author provides ways for readers to help society. I believe this is a must read for everyone. It should be a mandatory book in high schools and/or college because it is the young in America that will be making lasting change in this country.

not as depressing as I feared it would be because it offers action items and solutions for many of the material aspects of poverty it points out (not as many solutions for racism though) Good primer to begin a critical examination of poverty in the US.

Thank you to Netgalley for a chance to read and review this ARC. This is a phenomenal book about WHY poverty exists is America. This book presents the complicated world of poverty in a straightforward manner and it offers ideas for regular people to take action to bring about change. This is a must read!

The recent battle to raise the minimum wage in the United States to a liveable wage gains even more merit from this book. The author raises several issues that have been commonplace in the ongoing poverty constraints. She goes into more specific detail in each chapter as to the issues and possible solutions to overturn poverty and put people onto a more prosperous path in society. It is heartbreaking to read the specifics of situations that are preventable but not halted because of corporate greed and selfishness of politicians and society in general. This is a book that should be used in schools to create awareness of how action and more importantly inaction affects how a society progresses or regresses.

This is such a great book. While it's true that there are a small percentage of people who just want a handout so they don't have to work, the majority of people in poverty are there through no fault of their own. I deal with such poverty on a daily basis. This books outlines and explains all the manifestations of poverty that people have to deal with and includes tips on what you can do to change that. I recommend this to everyone.

As a high school Economics and Government teacher, I always feel that it is important to bring in real examples of the American experience, from many different places and faces and experiences. Broke in America has helped me supplement my course work and provide a richer experience to my students.

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 life. A must-read for all Americans..

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

This book opened my eyes to the plight of many people who live in America today. They are the ones who work minimum wage jobs with no benefits, who can't afford to stay home when sick because a bill won't get paid. Babies can't be put in daycare because mothers don't have money to buy diapers to leave with the baby. Hunger prevents children from learning when their stomachs are empty. The list goes on.

In this book, real people tell their stories of food insecurity, lack of affordable housing, etc. We are doing a poor job of helping the less fortunate with good programs to help them rise out of poverty. This book, at the end of each chapter, lists concrete steps we all can take to change things for the less fortunate. A must read!

Let me start by saying SHOCKING!

As someone who is "Broke in America", I was completely unaware of the many issues keeping many more than half Americans unable to provide readily for basic needs in order to live comfortable lives.

This book was well researched and included many of the resources and studies used to find the downfall in the American system. I am extremely saddened that we as a country are not fighting to take care of each other and fighting to create better income and resources that we all need to survive.

This is definitely a MUST READ!

* There were many times while reading the formatting was wonky but I was able to get through it. I will say, however, MANY proper nouns and the beginning of many sentences were not capitalized and that drove me crazy. Also, several times where names were listed last name the lower case first name. I hope they fix this prior to release!

Thank you to the authors, BenBella Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fantastic, albeit horrifying and maddening read. Even for those only minimally aware of the issues of economic inequality, it's obvious that way too many people are living paycheck to paycheck, or subsisting well below the poverty level, in the self-proclaimed "greatest country on earth". The framework used by the authors is very effective, pinpointing the issues first in terms of basic needs, then in the forms of oppression. Interwoven with individual glimpses into the lives of people impacted by the situation is the background and history of how this came about. The genius element is that clear, actionable items are included at the end of each topic. These are not difficult things, and the book shows how small steps by individuals can make a huge difference - very encouraging to find way for each of us to engage.

This is a must-read, and I cannot recommend it highly enough!

Broke in America is a well-researched book on poverty in America. It read like a sociology textbook, with three main sections - basic needs, forms of oppression, and solutions. I most enjoyed the solutions section, but thought that the author did a good job covering all the sections. Would recommend to gain a deeper understanding of poverty and what we can do to make changes!

"Broke in America" by Joanne Samuel Goldblum and Colleen Shaddox is what I would call a 101 course on poverty in America. The book provides a really great overview of how poverty exists in America from diaper and feminine hygiene insecurity to housing and food insecurity. The authors provide readers with some astoundingly sad facts about how low wages, a limited social safety net, poor policies, racism and other factors keep people in America poor. Each section of the book could really be its own book. This is an important read for the new year, especially as we see inequality grow as a result of Covid.

5 stars
Broke in America
Joanne Samuel Goldblum; Colleen Shaddox

This book is both enlightening and maddening. How a country like America has these problems is beyond me. I really feel this book needs to be mandatory reading in all schools, perhaps even all politicians should read it so they would truly know what it is like to live in poverty. More people need to realize the true effects of deprivation and the real-life complications which occur due to living in a constant state of desperate need and stress.
Goldblum and Shaddox have done a remarkable job of showcasing the day-to-day lives of Americans who live on the edge of homelessness and even those that have drifted into it. Far too many people are one missed paycheck from catastrophe. How is this even possible in this country? This is going to be one of the most important books of 2021.
I so highly recommend this book!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley.

I think that the formatting of this ARC as an ebook kept me from giving it five stars. The book has great information and stories, but it's difficult to read them in any meaningful way. I liked that the author gave ideas for advocacy at the end of each chapter.. I think this is a book that will read better in print. Good information and solid research, but I would have liked to see the book organized in a bit more linear fashion.

This book is to poverty what White Fragility is to racism. In the same way I believe every white person needs to read White Fragility, every non-poor person needs to read Broke In America.

It is so easy for us to lay back on our couches and say that if poor people just got a job and applied themselves, they wouldn’t be poor. The average person doesn’t realize all that we take for granted in not being poor.

This book does an incredible job of explaining the challenges of poverty and how our system is designed to make life more difficult for the impoverished. Even more, each chapter gives suggestions of what you can do to be proactive.

It is a must read. In fact, I just bought it for three people.

#netgalley #brokeinamerica

It's an interesting approach - this title is clearly written for an audience of not-broke who are interested in thinking about how to understand why the broke are, who they are, and how to help them. This last is the biggest conundrum of the book. Much of the approach is very "social work" oriented. That's a plus and a minus. The data is broad and decently presented and referenced - but is not too different from what can be found in other books. The difference here is more on the "understand" the broke approach - yes, the social work approach. In other words, one can really understand why the broke are (broadly put) not to blame for poverty. Read on!

I know, I know. This is just another book about inequality and brokenness in America, right? Wrong. Yes, we do see recurring themes and points as in other books like American Bootstraps and $2 a Day, but we have more information from the professionals and activists who lived the struggle and are trying to help others, or people who keep trying to claw their way out of the gigantic pit that the obvious (and not so obvious) moves by corporations, politicians, and voters have put them in. We also have clear, actionable items at the end of each topic. And they’re not difficult items, so you don’t have to already be in a position to make massive changes. This book shows that the small steps by individuals can make all the difference, especially if enough individuals speak up or engage.

I especially liked how this book went into the sub-prime car loan scam. I’ve long since known about the practices of these Ugly Duckling (or Drive Time now) type of dealerships that churn out cars with serious problems, collect some payments, repossess the car or leave the customer paying on a car they no longer have due to massive engine failure, resell if repo’d, repeat. The problem is that when someone can’t qualify for a loan from anywhere else, they’re stuck. Just like with renting subpar housing. Or working multiple low-wage jobs to try to get by. It’s a vicious cycle and this books perfectly lays out how it starts, how to break it, and just how difficult it is to break it, even temporarily.

While I realize that some may not want to read this because “it’s depressing”, I thinks it’s a must-read because of that. It’s reality for so many Americans and we need to remember that this country is failing such a large portion of its people that something needs to be done. And again, it doesn’t always have to be something huge. Just small actions or deeds could make all the difference for the neighbor you didn’t know is struggling to feed their children or the community you drive past and ignore on the way to Whole Foods.

This book is so different from other poverty finance books out there. I have read my fair share of them, and this book is far and away better. At the end of each chapter the authors describe actionable steps that an average person can take to help the poor, those in poverty, and those that are struggling.
I loved that. It really made me start to think about ways in which I could do something in my community.
I love the research and the time and the care that went into this book.
Its well researched and has a great flow.
One of the best books on poverty and finance that I have read in a long time.