Why China Ended Extreme Poverty and the U.S. Didn’t

China’s economic reforms dramatically reshaped the lives of its citizens. In 1990, extreme poverty was widespread. But by 2019, China declared it eliminated extreme poverty nationwide—a feat unmatched in scale.
The United States, despite incomparable wealth, failed to make similar progress. Over 4 million Americans now live on less than $3 a day, and the number continues to rise. The issue is not a lack of resources but how those resources are allocated.
America’s productivity remains among the strongest in the world, boosted by technological innovation. Yet the spoils of this progress overwhelmingly enrich high-income households.
Income inequality has become a defining feature of the U.S. economy. Middle-class earnings relative to top earners have steadily eroded for decades. Meanwhile, the bottom tenth of Americans receive just 1.8% of national income.
Government decisions have amplified this imbalance. Cuts to healthcare, nutrition programs, and worker protections, alongside tariffs that raise consumer prices, reveal a political system that consistently prioritizes the wealthy.