Comparison of Poverty and Income Inequality in China and the US
China has drastically reduced poverty, lowering the number of people living on less than $3 per day (in 2021 dollars) from 943 million (83% of the population) in 1990 to zero by 2019. In contrast, more than 4 million people in the United States, about 1.25% of the population, live on less than $3 per day, which is approximately three times the level 35 years earlier despite the US's higher GDP per capita.
Income inequality in the US has been widening, with the share of income held by the middle tier declining from about 52.5% of the income of the top 90th percentile in 1980 to 42.5% in 2023, having been around 48% in 2000. The bottom 10% of Americans receive about 1.8% of the national income, a proportion comparable to the poorest populations in Bolivia, Nigeria, China, and Bangladesh.
Recent policy proposals, such as the Big Beautiful Bill Act alongside tariffs, are projected to reduce household incomes for all but the richest quintile, with the bottom 10% potentially losing about 7%. The package also includes cuts to Medicaid, Affordable Care Act subsidies, and hundreds of billions in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cuts.
The article argues that this level of inequality is a deliberate feature of US policy over the last 50 years, noting that rich incomes have grown faster than poorer ones during all administrations except for Clinton's and the pandemic-era responses of Trump's first term.
The sharp contrast with China's poverty reduction under an authoritarian government invites reflection on governance models rather than straightforward praise for either system.
