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A woman who grew up in foster care explains why the 'adoption not abortion' argument doesn't fly.

A woman who grew up in foster care explains why the 'adoption not abortion' argument doesn't fly.

People who want abortion legally banned frequently argue for adoption as the alternative. But it's not that simple.

Anti-abortion advocates often tout adoption as the natural alternative to abortion, the idea being that those who are pregnant but don't want a baby don't have to keep it. They can go through pregnancy, deliver the baby, and then place the baby into the adoption system.

But there are multiple reasons why adoption isn't the answer to the abortion question. For one, pregnancy and childbirth are major physical and emotional experiences with real medical risks and consequences. Abortion often is, too, but let's not pretend that pregnancy, childbirth, and adoption is a simple alternative—especially when adoption itself is fraught with many of its own complexities and potential for real harm.

It would be nice if it were as simple as delivering a baby into the loving arms of adoptive parents, but it's not. Trauma lies at the heart of many adoption stories—trauma for birth parents as well as the children placed into a system that is overburdened and broken in too many ways.

Olivia Paige grew up in the adoption system, seeing first hand how many kids are failed by it.

As someone who grew up living in multiple foster homes, Olivia Paige took to Facebook to share some insights about the adoption system with everyone who says "Adoption is always an option.":

"Let me start off by reminding you of the 390,000+ children and teens in foster care, 100,000+ of which are waiting to be adopted," she wrote. "Around 50,000 are placed up for adoption each year—these abortion bans are sure to make those numbers grow so let me share some statistics with you.

20% of teens who age out of foster care become instantly homeless, with no support system in place. There is less than a 3% chance that any of these kids will obtain any sort of degree. 25% suffer from PTSD. 1 out of every 2 kids will develop substance abuse problems. Adopted children make up only 2% of children under 18.

What about the rest of them? I'll share what it was like for me, one of the lucky ones. Someone who by no means had it easy, but had just enough love and support to make it out alright."



"The photo attached is an actual flyer that was handed out to prospective adoptive homes for several years through my teens," Paige continued. "I was never adopted. I spent a decade in foster care, bouncing between 'homes' with strangers in places I'd never known before. With no warning, a social worker would show up and tell me I'd have to pack my things (the very few I had) and leave whatever strange place I'd kept myself from getting too comfortable in at the drop of a hat. I had no say in the matter. New school, new unwanted life - overnight. There was never any telling what the next place would be like."

Paige, now 22, said that she lived in a few good places, but that she was physically and sexually abused in two separate foster homes. She'd moved dozens of times by age 18.

"I was hospitalized at 11 years old," she wrote, "due to malnutrition and a swift blow to the head, then lied to the police because I was afraid of what would happen to me if I told the truth about how I got there or why I was covered head to toe in bruises. I learned that speaking up only creates more problems. So I kept my mouth shut.

I watched a foster parent take in 5 special needs children, and a few months later add a deck, new sunroom and hot tub to her house with money from the state. She later lost her license when it as apparent that she was neglecting these children. I've seen these situations over and over, I've also lived them. I spent ten years feeling unworthy of love, unwanted and waiting for the next bad thing to happen to me. This is just the beginning of it all."

Paige emancipated out of the system at 16 and is doing well, but thousands kids in the adoption system are not so lucky.

Paige made it through the system, but the scars of her experiences still linger. Thankfully, she's found a healthy way to cope and express herself through creative photography and self-portraiture.But Paige knows there are tens of thousands of kids who won't be so lucky, which is why she feels so strongly against people using adoption as a "solution" to abortion.


Paige says she took the portrait on the left just after she was emancipated and still felt unseen. "I still felt like I was unable to see the light," she told Upworthy. "It's a very binary image—much like my view of what life was like. It was either good, or bad with no gray areas." i.upworthy.com

"Do you know what it's like to log onto the adoptuskids.org website and see your name and face, year after year?" she wrote. "Knowing that nobody is in your corner. That you have no place to go. Well, I'm glad you don't and you never have to. But those kids you were so adamant about before they were born? A large number of them will.

Are these those 'rights' you were talking about? A life is not saved just by letting it be born.

Not being able to leave your foster home unless escorted by social worker or foster parent? To be unable to live a normal life? To be fully unprepared for adulthood with no safety net or support?

This isn't just *my* reality. This is the reality of hundreds of thousands of children who still face this every day, and the many more who you are signing up for this. A potential lifetime of loneliness, fear, neglect, worry and heartbreak. I dare you to say 'adoption is always an option' to any of the several tens of thousands who have been waiting patiently for years for someone to come along and give them the chance to define the word 'family'."

Some commenters asked kids like Paige if they would prefer to have never born. Their answers might surprise you.

Other people who struggled in the adoption system commented on Paige's post, and a couple of people had the audacity to ask if they'd rather have been aborted.

One person answered that there were times when yes, they'd have preferred that. Another answered that she can't speak for anyone else, but yes, she "sure as hell" would prefer that. Some pointed out that they would never have known, hence it's a dumb question. Paige herself responded, "Yes, I think that a lump of cells being aborted is better than the millions who will be born into a life like this. Absolutely." She said she doesn't wish she were dead, but also reiterated that that wasn't at all the point of her post.

"Forcing mothers to give birth under the guise of some false promise of adoption is wrong, for every party involved," Paige concluded in her post. "Nobody is forcing you to have an abortion, stop making decisions for others and stay out of other people's uteruses. This is the message I am trying to send by sharing my story.

I'll say it again, I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm not sharing this because I want sympathy. I don't need it. But those kids? They do. Their voices are unheard. And soon there will be more out there that your "hopes and prayers" will do nothing for—so please, take action now. Kids should be in homes with families that truly love them. If you're so adamant about kids being born—go through the process and adopt some yourself."

Paige said that if people want to help kids like her, they can join Big Brothers Big Sisters and look into fostering and adopting.

Let's take care of the kids who are here and need parents before pushing more kids to an already overburdened system through restrictive abortion laws.

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Why do we eat chicken eggs, duck eggs, and quail eggs, but not turkey eggs?

They're perfectly edible and apparently quite tasty, but you never see them on a menu.

Photo credit: Canva

Have you ever eaten a turkey egg?

When we talk about eating eggs in the U.S., we're almost always talking about chicken eggs. Occasionally, we might see duck eggs or quail eggs on the menu in a gourmet restaurant, and even more rarely something exotic like an emu egg. But do we ever see turkey eggs being served? Nope, never. (At least I never have, nor has anyone I've asked about this.)

Considering how many turkeys are raised domestically in the U.S. (around 220 million) and how many wild turkeys roam among us (around 7 million), you'd think we'd make better use of their eggs. They are egg-laying birds, after all, and since turkey meat is so similar to chicken meat, it seems logical that turkey eggs would be similar to chicken eggs, right?

 turkey eggs, eating eggs, chicken eggs, egg production Turkey eggs are larger than chicken eggs with a thicker shell.Photo credit: Canva

Right. Basically, that's true. Turkey eggs are larger than chicken eggs and they have a stronger shell, but from what people say, they're similar to eating chicken eggs only a little richer. Larger and richer, and yet we don't eat them on the regular? Why the heck not?

 babbel, language, learning a language, deals, sales A person uses the Babbel appBabbel


Babbel’s Biggest Sale of the Year: Get 67% off. Lifetime Subscriptions For $199


The Self-Sufficient Backyard YouTube channel explains the whole thing in a video that's been viewed by nearly 4 million people. Clearly, this is a burning question for people once it's brought to their attention.

  - YouTube  youtube.com  

Basically, what it boils down to is that their size makes them hard to handle, package, and store. Turkeys also aren't nearly as prolific as chickens. (Chickens lay eggs around once per day, while turkeys lay at most twice per week.) It's also more expensive to raise turkeys than chickens, so the price of a turkey egg is prohibitive, at around $3 per egg. Considering how everyone lost their minds over chicken eggs at $6 a dozen, it's unlikely people would pay $36 for a dozen turkey eggs.

However, some people who have eaten turkey eggs shared their thoughts on how they taste, and now people (me, I am people) really want to try them:

"I have eaten turkey eggs for years. They are larger shells are thicker but they taste wonderful."

"I've baked with Turkey eggs and they made the best pancakes I have EVER tasted."

"They taste like chicken eggs, I have turkeys. They only lay seasonally, generally starting in March, and they’ll continue to lay through June-August. They can lay 60ish eggs a year. They’re about 2x the volume of a chicken egg. They make excellent omelettes. Harder to crack, with a thicker membrane and shell."

 turkey eggs, wine, eating turkey eggs Turkey eggs on the menu.Photo credit: Canva

"Growing up, my family had a turkey! She laid eggs and we were always enamored by how huge they were. They taste wonderful!"

"We had turkeys with our chickens. They laid eggs daily with the chickens from March to September then would stop while the chickens would just slow down. I was surprised because I thought they would just lay a clutch once or twice because that’s what the wild turkeys do but nope. The only down fall we found was that cracking them was difficult. But if you use a butter knife to give it a whack at the top it works pretty well. It was like getting two egg whites and one yolk in chicken egg ratio lol."

"Taste exactly like chicken eggs. Way bigger. The only difference is the shell is way tougher to crack. So good."

Apparently experience with turkeys and turkey eggs is not uncommon? City folks, take note:

"I was raised on turkey's eggs... I come in from a part of Canada where we are raising turkeys. In Valcartier, turkey eggs used to be much cheaper than any other kind of eggs."

"Growing up on a farm being born in the 50s in western North Carolina we ate lots of turkey eggs. We usually had a dozen or so hen turkeys so we had quite a few to spare."

 turkeys, wild turkeys, turkey eggs Turkeys live all over the U.S.  Giphy/Minnesota State University Moorhead 

"My inlaws usually give us turkey eggs for the holidays. They have a big farm in Virginia with all sorts of animals. They usually just sell their eggs at the local market and give us the rest lol."

"The wild turkeys that live in my area used to get in my bird feeders when I had a house. One day I found an egg in the yard, possibly as payment lol."

"I've got a turkey for a pet. Her name is "Sweetpea" and I keep her around for no other reason except that she's awesome and provides good conversation. Every now and then during the warm months of the year she leaves me breakfast somewhere around the yard."

And then, just for funsies, there's this little anecdote about those "technically edible" emu eggs:

"Back in elementary school we had a teacher that raised Emus. She would always make delicious cakes but would tell no one how she made them. Eventually she told my mother the reasons she told no one was because she was afraid that people would stop eating them if they found out that she was using one emu egg for every three chicken eggs. We didn’t care."

There you go. Answering a question you may never have asked but desperately needed and answer to once you thought about it.

This article originally appeared in May.

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Getting pizza in two suburban neighborhoods — one built for cars, the other for community

Definitive proof that "quaint and walkable" is totally doable in the suburbs.

Photo credit: Canva

Urban planning is a choice.

When you think of a "neighborhood," what do you picture? Block after block of houses? A variety of homes and businesses all within walking distance? A community of people in close proximity who see and interact with one another regularly?

Neighborhoods can look very different, and the rise of suburbs in the past century changed the way neighborhoods have traditionally functioned. Sprawling housing developments often lack the "walkability" factor that serves as a hallmark of urban life. But a comparison of two side-by-side suburban neighborhoods shows that design is not a given, but a choice.

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

A video from StreetcraftShorts shows two neighborhoods in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, that offer drastically different ways of living. One of them is built for people and community, the other built for privacy and cars. To showcase the differences, the video goes through the process of getting a pizza in each neighborhood.

The first neighborhood contains continuous tree-lined sidewalks and nary a driveway or garage in sight. Vehicle access to the homes is from alleyways behind the homes, so the streets don't feel like they are geared toward cars. The lack of driveways cutting into the sidewalks also makes it safer for kids to walk or ride bikes down the sidewalk. Many of the front porches open up to green space as well, with intertwining paths people can walk on as shortcuts through the neighborhood.

 walkable neighborhood, walk paths, green spaces Paths through green spaces make walking more inviting.Photo credit: Canva

Perhaps most importantly, this neighborhood includes businesses. This is possible because the variety of home types—single-family, townhomes, and duplexes—creates enough population density to allow businesses to have a walkable customer base. The pizza place is right there in the neighborhood, so people can walk to it (though there's also parking behind the building, so they can drive if they prefer). Businesses are right there on the street, just like the homes, which creates a more cohesive sense of place compared to having a strip mall on the edge of a gigantic parking lot.

 pizza, pizza place, eating together, community restaurant Want to walk down to your local pizza place? Photo credit: Canva

The other neighborhood is different. This one is all single-family homes with driveways and garages at the front of the houses. There are no businesses in this neighborhood, so you have to go to a pizza place a few blocks away. The distance isn't terrible, but there's no infrastructure in place to make it walkable. In fact, there are streets between the neighborhood and the pizza place that have no sidewalks and signs indicating you're not even supposed to walk.

To get to the pizza place, residents have no choice but to drive on a large suburban road and cross four lanes of traffic. And the pizza place faces a parking lot—not exactly a community-based location to eat outdoors. The community appears to be built for cars, not for people.

 suburb, suburban neighborhood, the burbs, urban sprawl Some suburbs seem like they were solely designed for cars.Photo credit: Canva

Many people compared the first neighborhood to what's commonplace in Europe and other older places:

"In Europe, pretty much every neighborhood has a little coffee shop, a hair salon, some little stores, mini market.. it's easy to go out and grab something you need, by foot. Almost everything we need is available in walking distance, so it helps us being healthier and we breathe a little fresh air while we walk.. we only use the car for longer distances or big shopping."

"The Northeast (maybe the East Coast in general) is sort of a different beast to the rest of the country because a lot of it was built in an earlier time when walking was the primary mode of transportation. Or at least that's what I think. Out West where I grew up, the second neighborhood you see in the short is much more typical, with suburban neighborhoods centered around cars and no nearby businesses until you get to a commercial zone."

 walkable neighborhood, tree-lined street, sidewalks Not having driveways in front of homes makes sidewalks safer and more user-friendly.Photo credit: Canva

Zoning rules and regulations are partially why modern suburban neighborhoods are what they are, and automobile companies are partially to blame for those regulations. For decades, car makers have pushed car-dependent lifestyles and influenced city planning, which has altered what we view as normal.

While many feel that the first neighborhood is more desirable, not everyone agrees. Some people prefer not to interact with their neighbors, want their own backyard over communal green spaces, and wish to enjoy the greater sense of privacy that the second neighborhood affords. Whether that's a product of getting used to those kinds of developments or a genuine desire for less community walkability is a legitimate question, but everyone has their own preferences.

Either way, the contrast illustrates that urban planning is a choice. Neighborhood design must be intentional, and as this video shows, it's not actually all that difficult to create the kind of quaint, walkable, community-centered neighborhood so many people desire, even in the suburbs.

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Gen Xers are comparing themselves to the Silent Generation and the similarities are uncanny

"Very low key, no fuss or drama sorts of people."

Image via Canva

Many people from Generation X are comparing themselves to the Silent Generation.

Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1980, hold a unique place between Baby Boomers and Millennials. But its a previous generation that many are claiming to relate to even more: the Silent Generation.

In an online community of Gen Xers, a member named @bravenewwhorl shared with fellow Gen Xers about the similarities they share with the Silent Generation, those born between 1925 and 1945. "My parents were born before World War Two and my older siblings are younger boomers. Let’s hear it for the Silent Generation who were very much like us; went through the Depression, the war, took care of themselves and knew how to conserve resources," they wrote.

The user when on to add, "For example my mom scraped ALL the butter off the foil wrapper, and used every frying pan and leftover chicken bone as an opportunity to make soup."

 chicken soup, sicken bone, soup, hot soup, homemade soup Chicken Soup GIF  Giphy  

The post seemed to resonate with many Gen Xers, who also shared their thoughts and experiences that connect them to the Silent Generation. These are some of the best comments from Gen Xers on why they feel simpatico with the Silent Generation.

 no drama, drama, dramatic, low key, no fuss, generations No Drama Allblk GIF by WE tv  Giphy  

"My parents are Silent Gen. Very low key, no fuss or drama sorts of people." Dark-Empath-

"Mine too. That's basically their defining generational trait -- head down, work, and stay out of the way." stevemm70

"Oh the way my Dad could say nothing so very loudly. There are still things I wouldn't dream of doing now because his silence was so deafening. I am 56." Maleficent_Bit2033

"Mine were born during the war, but same. Extremely frugal and practical. Parents were way into reusing everything and not wasting. My mom still has a drawer full of Ziplock bags and sheets of tinfoil that have been used 10x. My dad drilled into me that social security probably will not be there for our generation, so save save save. Cars are tools, not investments. Drive it into the ground. My Honda is 20 years old, Dad!" Haunting-Berry1999

 frugal, frugality, practical, cheap, save No Way Wow GIF by RatePunk  Giphy  

"My parents are Silent Generation, and because I was born in the mid 60s, so are the parents of almost everyone I grew up with. I am tired of this narrative that all GenX parents were boomers; that is simply not true, especially for those of us born 1970 or earlier. My parents were always very concerned about economic security, both for themselves and their kids. They transferred that concern to my siblings and myself." Ineffable7980x

"I still put ham bones in the freezer (Great grandma thing) for the soup I never make. Maybe this time :)." motherofguinaepigz

"My parents' parents definitely conserved resources - would wash and reuse 'tin foil', made food carry over into 4 or 5 different meals, shopped wisely, were extremely frugal with money and tried to be financially savvy. For them, cars, clothes, and appliances were maintained and repaired and lasted for years and years. My parents inherited a lot of those traits by example, and it followed down to us, too. Cars, clothes, and appliances aren't made today the way they were 'back then', of course, but we still try to make it work. I know people who change cars, or get new appliances, or even remodel or move to a new house every several years, and that just doesn't make sense to me. I just hope upcoming generations maintain and improve the 'reduce, reuse, recycle' mindset we were taught." DrewHunterTn

 reduce, reuse, recycle, frugal, resources Reduce Climate Change GIF by INTO ACTION  Giphy  

"My grandparents were Silent Generation. I am young GenX (but still GenX ‘76). I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for my Silent Generation grandparents. They taught me a lot, and I feel more in touch with their generation than I’ve ever felt with Boomers. The boomers were such a let down; not great parents and worse grandparents." kemberflare

"My folks are both silent generation (both born in 41) and I'm a young gen x (born in 75, last of 3), and farm kids to boot. They taught me a lot of important things. You do what you want, but think it through because all actions have consequences. Don't waste money on frivolous stuff, but when you buy something big, buy quality and make it last. Most importantly, while they loved me and thought I was special, the world at large doesn't think about me at all. Also, my mom still washes out ziplock bags. I did not keep that lesson." No_Hedgehog_5406

"Mine are young Silent gen’s, so didn’t know the war strife, but their parents knew how to be frugal, could fix anything, and passed that down through the generations. My parents said they were too old to be hippies, but almost went to Woodstock. My dad got a PhD to stay out of Vietnam. Like others have said, very low key, very private, and didn’t live in the past at all. Compared to my friends’ parents, I wouldn’t trade them for anything else." ZuesMyGoose

This article originally appeared in May.
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Who are the Zillennials? Here's what sets those born between 1994 and 1999 apart.

"We had to come inside for the night when the street lights turned on, but knew how to operate computers before the explosion of the internet."

Images via Canva/Lilyandrews1997/Reddit

Zillennials are the micro-generation between Millennials and Gen Z.

Micro-generations, such as Xennials and Generation Jones, continue to pop up within major generations. Set apart by technology, pop culture, and current events, they continue to re-define generational sub-groups. And Zillennials, those born between 1994 and 1999 (as defined in an online forum of Zillennials), are the latest micro-generation to set themselves apart from Millennials and Gen Z.

Zillennials technically fall under both the Millennial and Gen Z umbrellas, making them a hybrid micro-generation. Millennials are those born 1981-1996, and Gen Z are those born 1997-2012. However, culturally Zillennials are defining themselves as not quite Millennials, and not quite Gen Z.

  - YouTube  www.youtube.com  

 

Zillennials are defining themselves by many indicators. "Zillennials grew up in the 00’s as we spent most of our childhood in that decade," one noted in an online generation forum.

Another shared, "For me, this generation represents people who grew up right during the time the world transitioned from analog to digital technology. So people who still remember the (mostly) analog and pre-internet days, but were young enough to experience an almost fully digitalized world and the rise of the internet as kids/tweens. So for me, it would be around 1994-1999, maybe even 2000, but nothing above that."

@zhangsta

Zillennials Unite?!🙋🏻‍♀️ #zillennialtiktok #zillennial #til #todayilearned #genz

 

Another Zillennial quipped, "Let’s say we had to come inside for the night when the street lights turned on, but knew how to operate computers before the explosion of the internet. Our childhood has a mix of old fashioned practices with the need to rapidly learn the technological revolution. We can show you your way through the woods and also how to set up your excel document. Balanced."

A main distinction between Zillennials and Millennials is technology. "The big difference that I see between myself ('94) and my siblings ('97, '00) is just the impact of when social media and smartphones were introduced in our development. The iPhone, Instagram, and Snapchat didn’t really take off until I had graduated, but my siblings were young teenagers when it started," one noted in an another generational online forum.

@melissakristintv

What are your thoughts on Zillennials? If you fall into this category (roughly 1992-2002) how do you identify? 🤔 My brother is right on the cusp (1996) and we’ve always said he’s a millennial, so I’m very curious!!! #millennial #genz #zillennial #generations #fyp

"We’re also the last kids who spent their entire childhood without smart tech in existence- but spent our later teen years in high school with it for the most part, who used analog tech for much of our childhood, who grew up with only desktops as our internet source, and the last who can remember life pre-9/11," another Zillennial explained.

And Zillennials also don't feel totally connected to Gen Z, citing pop culture differences. "We are the generation that got to experience Beyonce, Ciara, Shakira, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber, etc. We got to watch Courage the Cowardly Dog, Wizards of Waverly Place, and the slow down fall of Cartoon Network...and then change of SpongeBob. We got to watch Harry Potter and Hunger Games/Divergent," a fellow Zillennial added. "We are usually mistaken to be elderly but we are far from older Millennial who are in their late thirties-early forties. We did not get to experience what they got too. A good example of an older millennial is Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Beyonce. Young Millennials aka (Millennials) are Tyler the Creator."

On the flip side, Zillennials don't consider themselves as Gen Z. "Zillennials remember a time before smartphones Gen Z doesn’t," one noted. And another Zillennial added to the thread, "I'll do you one better as a '94 born. I remember a time before social media was really a thing on the internet. I was already in middle school, so 2006-2007 range, before I heard the words, 'Facebook', 'Myspace', and 'MSN.'"

Ultimately, Zillennials note that they don't fully identify as Millennials or Gen Z.

"I would say 90s kids (90s Millennials and 90s Gen Zs) are Zillennials. They share analogue early childhood and digital to smart devices and modern social media through their teen years," another Zillennial concluded.

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If the total amount of money held by Americans was distributed evenly, how much would you get?

What if you got an equal slice of the country's wealth?

via Canva/Photos

A woman with hundred dollar bills.

The United States has more money held by private citizens than any other country in the world. According to the Federal Reserve, U.S. households hold a total of $160.35 trillion, which is the value of each person’s assets minus their liabilities. However, many Americans are perplexed by the fact that, in a country with such wealth, so many people still struggle to make ends meet.

Although Americans hold the largest amount of privately held wealth in the world, many of us still struggle with financial stress. A recent report found that 68% don’t have enough money to retire, 56% are struggling to keep up with the cost of living, and 45% are worried about their debt levels. A significant reason is that a small number of people hold a large portion of the privately held wealth in the U.S..

Nearly two-thirds of America’s private wealth is held by the top 10% of people, leaving the remaining one-third to be divided among 90% of the population.

 elon musk, richest americans, elon musk black hat, elon musk sunglasses, doge Elon Musk at CPAC.via Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons

What if America divided its privately held money evenly?

With so many people struggling in America, while a few at the top are unbelievably wealthy, what would happen if the money were magically divided evenly among the 340 million people who live in the United States? If everyone received a truly equal share of the American pie, every person would receive approximately $471,465. That’s $942,930 per couple and $1.89 million for those with two kids.

With that chunk of change, the couple could easily pay off the average U.S. mortgage and have plenty of resources to save for a good retirement and send both kids to a decent college or trade school. The billionaire who once had more assets than they knew what to do with would probably have to move into a middle-class neighborhood.

 couple with money, middle class money, cash money, couple on couch, man and woman A couple with cash sitting on a couch.via Canva/Photos

However, such a drastic redistribution of wealth would be cataclysmic for the economy, as people would have to liquidate their investments to give their assets to others. The sudden increase in wealth for many, without a corresponding increase in goods and services, would lead to incredibly high inflation. The dramatic reconfiguring of the economy would also disincentivize some from working and others from innovating. Some posit that if everyone were equal, in just a few months, those with wealth-generating skills would immediately begin rising to the top again, while others would fall behind.

What programs reduce poverty?

Although it seems that a massive redistribution of wealth isn’t in the cards for many reasons, we do have some evidence from recent history on how programs that give people money can help lift them out of poverty. Government stimulus programs during the COVID-19 pandemic brought the U.S. poverty level to a record low of 7.8% in 2021. Child poverty was also helped by the American Rescue Plan’s Child Tax credit expansion, which drove child poverty to an all-time low of 5.2%. It’s also worth noting that the trillions in government stimulus had a downside, as it was partially responsible for a historic rise in inflation.

While for many, the notion that there are billionaires while others can hardly get by feels obscene, redistributing America’s wealth is more of a thought experiment than something that would realistically happen. But it highlights an important truth: massive wealth inequality exists in the world’s wealthiest nation. While perfect equality will never exist, that shouldn't stop us from making targeted efforts to reduce poverty that make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

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