A recent analysis argues that China has dramatically reduced extreme poverty in recent decades, while the United States — despite its wealth — continues to leave millions behind, largely by political design.
In 1990, nearly 943 million people in China lived on less than $3 a day (adjusted to 2021 dollars), amounting to 83 percent of the population, according to World Bank data. By 2019, that number was reduced to zero. In sharp contrast, over 4 million Americans — about 1.25 percent of the U.S. population — still live on less than $3 a day, more than three times the number in 1990.
Economists note that, while the U.S. leads much of the world in productivity and innovation, its social spending fails to assist those at the bottom. The U.S. economy produces nearly six times as much per person as China, yet it is home to more people in extreme poverty. This surprising disparity reflects not economic failure alone, but political choices about how wealth is distributed.
Over the years, the U.S. has seen a growing concentration of income at the top. Since 1980, the share of income held by middle-income Americans relative to the top 10 percent has steadily declined — from about 52.5 percent then to just 42.5 percent by 2023. Meanwhile, the poorest 10 percent of Americans now receive just 1.8 percent of the national income — a share comparable to or worse than that in developing countries like Bolivia.
Though market forces such as globalization and automation have played a role in widening the gap, the article argues that public policy is not neutral: it has actively contributed to inequality. Recent U.S. legislative moves, including tariff hikes and cuts to social welfare programs, are said to disproportionately hurt low-income Americans. For example, proposed changes to Medicaid and food assistance programs could reduce the income of the poorest households — the bottom 10 percent could see a 7 percent drop, according to estimates from Yale’s Budget Lab.
Moreover, this trend has spanned many decades and administrations, both Republican and Democrat. Since the 1970s, income growth has consistently favored the wealthy, with few major interventions to reverse the pattern — except during extraordinary events such as the pandemic, when relief measures temporarily boosted incomes among lower-income Americans.
Critics of the U.S. system argue that, unlike in China, the political will to share economic gains with the poorest has been lacking. The author cautions that despite President Trump’s populist appeals, his policies may exacerbate inequality rather than alleviate it.
The commentary does not praise China’s authoritarian system or dismiss its human rights issues. Rather, it points out a paradox: a one-party authoritarian state managed to eradicate absolute poverty, while the world’s oldest democracy still tolerates deep destitution — largely because of choices made in how to distribute its wealth.
