China’s Anti-Poverty Win Contrasts America’s Gaping Wealth Divide

China successfully lifted hundreds of millions of people above the extreme poverty line over the last three decades. By 2019, it reported zero citizens earning under $3 per day.
The U.S. shows the opposite trend. Extreme poverty has climbed to more than 4 million Americans, despite the nation’s extraordinary wealth.
American innovation and productivity thrive, yet their rewards increasingly flow to the wealthiest. Middle- and low-income earners receive a shrinking share of national prosperity.
Today, the poorest Americans earn proportionally less than the poor in nations like China, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Income inequality has become a defining characteristic of the U.S. economy.
Policies reducing healthcare assistance, food support, and social security—combined with tariffs that increase living costs—have driven inequality higher. The system works well for the rich, not the poor.