# Suffering as a Feature

**URL:** <https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/suffering-as-a-feature/10457>\
**Category:** blog\
**Created:** [October 28, 2026, 6:18am UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/suffering-as-a-feature/10457 "2026-10-28T06:18:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/user_avatar/discourse.codinghorror.com/codinghorror/32/36371_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/codinghorror)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2026, 6:18am UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/suffering-as-a-feature/10457/1 "2026-10-28T06:18:19Z")

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Have you seen [this](https://dreamagainusa.org)?

If you haven't, you should. I think _everyone_ needs to. Wealth inequality on a scale this extreme is almost impossible to explain. You have to _experience it_ to understand.

* * *
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at [https://blog.codinghorror.com/suffering-as-a-feature/](https://blog.codinghorror.com/suffering-as-a-feature/)

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**Author:** ![captainnoyaux](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/user_avatar/discourse.codinghorror.com/captainnoyaux/32/79419_2.png) [@captainnoyaux](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/captainnoyaux)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/suffering-as-a-feature/10457/2 "2026-10-28T17:21:51Z")

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You are the man Mr.Atwood, I wish I share like you if one day I have enough money (it’s easy to say you will do it but not so easy to actually do it I believe, hats of to you)

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**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/user_avatar/discourse.codinghorror.com/codinghorror/32/36371_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/codinghorror)\
**Post date:** [October 28, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/suffering-as-a-feature/10457/3 "2026-10-28T17:21:51Z")

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Listed on October 28, 2026, 5:21pm UTC



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**Author:** ![franksands](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/user_avatar/discourse.codinghorror.com/franksands/32/75635_2.png) [@franksands](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/franksands)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2026, 7:18pm UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/suffering-as-a-feature/10457/4 "2026-10-29T19:18:09Z")

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It is not only a feature, it is a project. The rich need people to wash their clothes, clean their mansions and bring their meals. For this to work, they need that the large majority of the population does not have a decent job and “need” to work for the rich

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**Author:** ![codinghorror](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/user_avatar/discourse.codinghorror.com/codinghorror/32/36371_2.png) [@codinghorror](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/u/codinghorror)\
**Post date:** [October 30, 2026, 2:44am UTC](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/t/suffering-as-a-feature/10457/5 "2026-10-30T02:44:58Z")

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I didn’t think of it that way until I recently discovered this Atlantic article – [The War on Poverty Is Over. Rich People Won.](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/05/poverty-in-america-book-matthew-desmond-interview/674058/)

> Why do so many Americans live in poverty? **Because so many rich people benefit from it.**
> 
> This is the thesis of the lauded sociologist [Matthew Desmond’s new book, Poverty, by America](https://bookshop.org/p/books/poverty-by-america-matthew-desmond/c06303975ef111ba). The best seller is at once a careful exploration of poverty statistics; a deeply reported depiction of the lived experiences of the poor; an examination of the ways America’s wealthy exploit the masses; and a case for ending poverty. Desmond shows how the country’s employers, financial institutions, and landlords extract money from low-income families while rich families hoard opportunity for themselves. He also demonstrates how America’s safety-net programs are not just too stingy but poorly designed.
> 
> Desmond is a professor at Princeton. His previous book—Evicted, about the low-income rental market in Milwaukee—won a Pulitzer Prize. We discussed how the rich came to win the War on Poverty and what’s necessary to end poverty.

Desmond is the same author referenced in the blog post image as the asterisk citation for eliminating poverty in the United States at $177 billion.

 ![image](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/uploads/default/original/3X/3/1/31d2f94c3a7dce6814c4387fe8161e92d678f8c1.jpeg)

As an aside, speaking of 👆 this card, I found a [list of community bulletin boards in San Francisco](https://www.simbasite.com/post/community-bulletin-boards-in-san-francisco), and I wrote the author and asked if they could recommend someone for a paid gig to place the printed card on the bulletin boards. The author, Pursarth, offered to do it for a very fair rate – which I overpaid of course.

My partner saw one in SF, not knowing this was in progress, and sent this picture to me.

 ![billionaires-end-poverty-177-billion-card](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/uploads/default/original/3X/a/8/a8cb72367ef5287f921f8931f8b09216e14f7e39.jpeg)

There’s a whole [photo album](https://photos.icloud.com/shared/album/044eWaHlA5uzDAS0JSp5kSwEQ/) of the 206 bulletin board placements…

 ![image](https://discourse.codinghorror.com/uploads/default/original/3X/5/0/50d3d697e73846ff36c28c3eb1ef8e7053e9078d.jpeg)