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Overview
Despite its enormous wealth, the United States leads the industrialized world in poverty. One Nation, Underprivileged unravels this disturbing paradox by offering a unique and radically different understanding of American poverty. It debunks many of our most common myths about the poor, while at the same time provides a powerful new framework for addressing this enormous social and economic problem.
Mark Robert Rank vividly shows that the fundamental causes of poverty are to be found in our economic structure and political policy failures, rather than individual shortcomings or attitudes. He establishes for the first time that a significant percentage of Americans will experience poverty during their adult lifetimes, and firmly demonstrates that poverty is an issue of vital national concern.
Ultimately, Rank provides us with a new paradigm for understanding poverty, and outlines an innovative set of strategies that will reduce American poverty. One Nation, Underprivileged represents a profound starting point for rekindling a national focus upon America's most vexing social and economic problem.
Synopsis
Rank, who teaches social work at Washington U. in St. Louis, has spent a lot of time studying the state of being poor. Here he unravels the paradox of why one of the world's wealthiest nations leads the industrialized world in poverty. He debunks many common myths Americans hold about the poor, showing that the fundamental causes of poverty are to be found in the US economic structure and political policy failures rather than individual shortcomings or attitudes. In fact, he finds, a significant proportion of Americans will experience poverty in their lifetimes. He also provides a framework for addressing the problem. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR