China’s poverty-reduction campaign stands as a historic success story. Over three decades, it lifted nearly a billion people from extreme poverty. By 2019, the country reported zero citizens living on less than $3 a day.
The U.S., despite immense wealth, has moved in the opposite direction. More than 4 million Americans now live in extreme poverty—triple the number 35 years ago.
American productivity remains among the highest in the world, but the rewards overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy. The middle class continues to lose ground, and the poorest bear the brunt of economic stagnation.
Income shares reflect the imbalance. The poorest 10% of Americans earn less, proportionally, than their counterparts in several developing nations. Meanwhile, the rich grow richer at accelerating rates.
Government choices—including the reduction of social services and the imposition of tariffs that raise consumer costs—underscore that America’s inequality is a deliberate political outcome, not an economic inevitability.