The High Cost Of Being Poor: The Realities Of Poverty In America | Less Than | Documentary Cental
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- Опубликовано: 15 апр 2023
- Less Than is an in-depth look at poverty in America and beyond. What are its causes, what are its effects, and ultimately asks the question, "Is there Hope?.
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#poverty #america #usa #Documentary #Channel #Facts 
Развлечения
As a person with a PhD. I can’t overstate the importance of my eight-month vocational training as a plumber, welder, and carpenter. Those eight months have changed my life for the better, unlike my 20 years and four months of education.
:(
Plumbers never starve 😂
@@richardscathousefacts
Maybe as a journeyman or highly experienced plumber but the truth is a lot of people don’t want to work those jobs because most warehouses have similar pay, they have less career growth opportunities but benefits and pay are very similar and nobody wants to go out of work for 3-8 months to complete those/ juggle a full time job at the same time.
Unwed pregnancies is one of the major contributors to poverty.
After earning my BA in 2006 the college wouldn’t even hire me as a cleaner! Stunning references from professors & employers. I love to help! Now I’m a housekeeper with a BA & I’m not the only one. You’ll never believe what the rich will pay to get their place cleaned.
a degree doesnt mean shit... you prob just arent useful to employers
Somebody have the inside connections. Yeah alot of them prefer off the books meaning illegal immigrants its not only cheaper in the W-2 hourly wage but is the lack of employer's matching in unemployment employers account not to mention life insurance disability and social security.
What is your degree in?
@@michelebonfoey9772 psychology hahaha
@@michelebonfoey9772 probably some useless sociology or ethnic studies
Poverty can be subjective - my aunt once said long long ago - when she was growing up in rural america in the 1940s, she had no idea that they were poor because everyone else they knew lived and had just what they did and worked in similar jobs and lived din similar houses and ate the same things.
That was the same message espoused by Loretta Lynn in her song "Coal Miner's Daughter".
yeah but now internet kids see everything have had nots
I'm not even half way through and I am pretty sure they are not going to talk about how you can get the education and then be crushed by the student loan debt when there are no adequate jobs.
Of course not! It switched to “it’s your fault for having sex outside of marriage”!
This is 6 years old. It's far worse now.
Nice to know, six years out of date. Used to be people waited at the gate for college grads, with a job offer, no longer, now you are not wanted, you are overqualified. Sorry.
@@eleanoremameli6641that's why I didn't go back to school again after my bachelor's degree. Once I came out with my engineering degree I started grinding. After 7 years it's worked out for me. But I had a lot of losses along the way. Losing my mom 17 months ago still hits the hardest.
Agreed. Wages are behind the cost of living worse now.
Confusing when these show as a few months old but done years ago.
@@DemetriT1 I'm sorry for your loss💗
I graduated high-school, college and grad school. I did not get pregnant. I was brought up in a two parent home in a house we owned.. I am homeless . I work a full time job and make what should be enough to have a place to live.
I feel your pain! I have a graduate degree and rent is half my take home pay.
@@nwatson2773in recent years computers and robotics have vastly cut down on the number of mid-level jobs available to those who lack higher education and/or specialized training.
What are your degrees in?
D Davis BS Psychology, Minor Biology/Chemistry.
MBA - Management
Second undergraduate in Accounting.
Miss Adventures
I really wish they would've advised you toward a stronger career path.
Unfortunately, those would be considered weaker earning degrees. I know hindsight is 20/20.
What is your plan moving forward now?
I grew up poor in East LA, one of three boys raised by a single mother, almost ended up in foster care, was malnourished, got into some trouble, dropped out of school in the 10th grade, and started working in construction at 16. Bought my first home at 21. Paid it off at 28, started my own construction company at 32 and just retired at 54. Now I’m in the top three percent.
I believe this country allows anyone who wants it bad enough… can be a success. It’s a mindset and a grind.
You are a delusional slave minded consumerist
Keep giving all your attention to making that fiat currency
Your one step away from losing it all
Brainwashed
Mostly its a no, I assume you are Chicano or Latino. They are the super majority and were here before the White Europeans so La Raza help you out. Its called discrimination and keep it within La Raza. As for owning a business you probably know all the ins and outs since you would probably hire your own kind since they are the super majority and/or the only race that would stand in front of The Home Depot for under the table income not to mention hire relatives and distant ones. Also, I have seen some hiring managers and/or business owners hire underqualifieds but it was within their race and/or national origin not to mention insider connections. This is a lack of internal control.
@@mechanicaltypewriteroperat9885 I am Chicano…Ended up marrying a white girl and we had two sons together. Started up a union construction company, and was required to hire only union workers. Don’t know anything about that HD help. I usually don’t bottom feed or exploit the Pizano’s/ border brothers.
I own a vacation home in Rosarito beach Mexico, where I have a full time house keeper, cook, and a local maintenance worker, all of which I pay very well for Mexico’s standards.
My friends from the neighborhood eventually became haters, and I only put a couple of em to work in the union before I decided not to hire friends anymore., They didn’t work as hard for me, and only became jealous of my success. Unfortunately…my race tend to behave like crabs in a bucket and only try to pull you down. There are the exception though. A couple of my superintendents are Mexican, as well as a few family members, who worked out for the better.
We pay our superintendents over $200k a year and our journeyman carpenters most of who are Latino and white, get paid $46 an hour and $78 an hour full burdened, on top of a pension and annuity.
Retired not too long ago with a nice package, leaving my two boys in charge to continue the legacy.
I wanted it enough but I was a girl. We weren't allowed to take metal shop or wood shop or automotive shop. We were taught only how to make Bisquick pizzas for kids we were supposed to someday pop out. ANY ambition beyond that was severely frowned upon!! Even after I finally worked my way through low-paying female waitress jobs, and finally got a BS in Medical Technology at age 30, and had secured a good paying job and I went to buy a car at age 30, I was told I would need a MALE cosigner for them to give me a car loan. Afterall, I was just a WOMAN!! TRUST ME - POOR, white (or off-white), and MALE is different than Poor, colored and/or female. At least it sure was back in the day!
@@kinky_Z Women today are given just as much opportunity if not more than men.
I was required to hire a percentage of women to work as union carpenters, iron workers, and laborers. We were required to hire a minimum of 7% women, even if they weren’t qualified. We had to pass on the costs of their low production rate onto the client.
It was hard enough trying to find women willing to do the work, and the ones we hired took on light weight work, making the heavy work that much more of a burden for the men to carry. Men no longer had lightweight work to do from time to time, when they needed a bit of a break from the heavy grind.
When it comes to heavy industrial construction…women just can’t do what men can do. Not even the big bull dikes we hire. Even they spend most their time just holding traffic signs, cus they just can’t hang with the men.
As far as a co-signer goes.
You are allowed to have anyone with a good credit score to cosign for you. It has nothing to do with what sex they are. Men or women with a good credit score equally qualify as cosigners.
Personally…I think that you should’ve taken a few simple steps to build up your credit score, and bought the car on your own credit.
All my nieces had nice, new cars under their names, by the age of 20 or 21. They had mediocre jobs while going through school, and built up their credit scores. Now they think their boss bitches, 2 of them are RN’s and one started her own accounting business. None of them know how to do anything that really matters to a man. I tell them all of the time…you’re going to have miserable lives if you don’t ever want to get married, and if they do marry without wife skills…they’ll just eventually get dropped.
It's really kind of disappointing that this whole thing turned into a poverty shaming, pull yourself up by the boot straps conversation. If what we're going to do, is compare the average US citizen to Beyonce then what's the point? To have all of this data on the state of poverty, here and still drop the ball 🤦🏾♀️ Just say you can't relate or you don't understand. Many people come from poverty and obtain success, but in most cases, it's the rare exception. Someone just mentioned having the weight of your whole family or community on your shoulders because you're the one who's going to "make it" and make it out. Is no one going to speak on the pressure of not being able to make mistakes or fail, having the ability to recover or having a safety net?
Yes! Generational poverty is inherited just like your eye color. I make twice what my mother makes but I have 40k in student loans
Exactly
@@757Princess poors need to stop breeding.. thats a simple solution
I couldnt believe they were talking about Beyonce...who was never in poverty to begin with. Her father was an executive and he had connections. Are they serious? I had to turn it off at that point. Its just not serious.
True! More of exception rather than rule
I agree that we need education and skills to keep out or get out of poverty I just find that education and getting skills don't always have to be in a typical classroom or lecture hall. Hands on real world experience can go a long way in getting skills and education or knowledge especially since you get to apply what you have learned.
Colleges are like a trap for poor people, all it got me was a piece of paper (degree) and debt. It isn't a fair system.
@@mikinaakandersen1189 What did you study?
I grew up poor money wise, but I was raised by parents who had a middle class upbringing and therefore a mindset that matched l, bc they lost everything financially after I was born. But you can’t take away how someone perceives themselves. So I was always told I was going to go to college (in spite my learning and physical disabilities). Studies have shown just being told you’re going to go to college (not how, not where, no specifics) can make the difference if you will attend or not. ❤
While I grew up poor my mom pushed me to go to college. Today I do have 50k student debt but I have a decent paying job and opportunities to save for my future
@@757Princess I got the degree and debt, but never the decent job. My debts never getting paid, haha.
Sometimes it's more important to pick the right degree. Whats marketable.
Getting a degree isn't the goal it's learning how to make that's important
I dont think it was just Beyonces work ethic that got her where she was it was also based on her beauty if she was too dark or not so white washed she would of been another inspiring singer trying to make it to the top
She's much whiter now than when she started her career. Just saying, she found it necessary to white wash herself to further her career.
Indeed..Just like Ice spice is being pushed becuase of her biracial look
Many things contributed to Beyonce becoming Beyonce. She had a group of people who supported her... Imagine if she had had lots of people who talked down to her and her dream Would she have stopped dreaming??
Absolutely true.. Color is VERY important in America, but Americans spend a lot of time pretending it isn't.
Beyonce also had a very strong father presence. As well as a very strong mother prescence in her life that both encouraged her as well as worked with her to push her dream.
They put her in the right rooms with the right people and she had drive.
Plus the fact that she actually had talent.
When I was 10, I decided I was going to be a great piano player when I grew up. So everyday after school I went out to the garage where my mom had put my dad's piano after he left us, and I would play it... trying to teach myself how to play from the few lessons my dad once gave me. All my friends were going to "piano lessons" they hated but their parents were forcing them. My parents refused to give me lessons because I was just supposed to stay pretty and marry a rich man. Case closed. Nevertheless, after school every day I went to the garage and played the piano ... doing that for many months until one day, after school, I went out to play the piano, and it wasn't there. I went into shock. When my mom came home I asked her, "Where's the piano??" She smiled and said, "Go look in the den." I ran into the den where I saw this godawful stinky naugahyde beige couch. So I went back to my mom and said, "Where's the piano??" She said, "I sold it and bought that couch." It's not always about how much money your parents have. It's also about how selfish, ignorant, hateful, and cruel they might be!!
THANK YOU!!! I am the oldest of three in a single parent household with a mentally ill mother who suffers from severe depression, CPTSD, BPD, anxiety, and serious narcissistic tendencies. Living all my life with a mother who didn’t have a clue about life but cursed out her child any chance she got….it was an eye opening experience to be eight years old realizing it was unfair to come home to a mother who spoke to and so badly about a small child.
Thanks to my parents, I now suffer from severe depression, CPTSD, Fibromyalgia. I am 18 now, with seemingly no way out. I have to take a gap year, and I tell all my friends it’s because I need a break. In reality, it’s because I need to stay home and continue to raise my siblings. For six years of my life, instead of focusing on my education, I have been raising my siblings. Sometimes our biggest obstacles are our PARENTS.
How much that paying you??? 😂😂😂
24,000 equals 2000 a month. That’s literally half of rent now in 2023 if you are lucky. 😮
People moved from Europe over to the United States to have a cheaper place to live and all you have to do is move to Tulsa Oklahoma the cheapest place in the nation for rent and actually a wonderful City
@@KC-dr3cg Not everyone can do that though
Where I live in Central Illinois 2000 month rent would be a mansion
Yup thats insane. A 1 bedroom apartment where I am 1600+. If u have a family a 2 bedroom easily 2400
That's true ,only way to beat that is to live in a rural area
Just want you guys to know that “pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps” used to refer to doing something that is literally impossible.
Yes, a joke that people take as the gospel now.
You mean like Superman flying through the air?
Hard to do without boots.
Left home at 17, put myself through school as I could afford classes, no student loans until dental school, bicycle commuter until after dental school. Last in the family to get a degree, only one with a doctorate. At one point I worked 3 PT jobs and went to school at night. Gotta really want it
congrats on degrees. Alot of hard work and sleepless nights
Love how "get married" is apparently some magical solution that obviously means you'll automatically be okay and able to raise a family. Guess nobody ever heard of a piece of paper NOT stopping someone from acting exactly how they would have if unmarried.
I agree. Yet studies have always proven that children raised by both married parents are more successful due to the stability of the situation. Unmarried parents who live together make much less money.
Getting married for the most part means two incomes and two people working together towards goals. A successful marriage requires really knowing someone and agreeing to work on the relationship everyday
A single hoe isn’t going to succeed.
Here is your recipe for success.
1. Graduate from high school
2. Don’t do drugs
3. Get married
4. No children before age 25
5. Don’t move every 2 years
Or if you happened to marry a abuser.... Guess you got to stay
Absolutely true
I grew up in poverty with a single Mom.(Dad never paid child support). I knew enough to study hard, get scholarships, get a career, live beneath my means and save. Now I am wealthy and debt free. Yes it can be done.
I grew up in poverty and my mother was highly envious of my intelligence and insulted me for good marks. I was forced to do a huge amount of household tasks and was yelled at when I made my homework first. It can be done when your family doesn't actively hinder you...
If u believe a person paying child support keeps children out of poverty I refuse to believe u was bright enough to get wealthy. Mothers misuse that money at a rate of 93% and puts them further in debt. The problem is they see it as free money amd people that see free abuse things
Much harder these days my friend.
@@solidstate9451tell me about it. I also am growing up with a single mom. But I am the oldest of three, and she’s mentally ill, and childcare is virtually unaffordable. Meaning, I am 18 now, having to take care of my siblings instead of going to college. I have no savings to move out because I have been raising my siblings instead of having a fun little part time job like all the other kids who were in high school. I have trouble finding a job because I developed a painful condition from all the years of complex ptsd…thanks mom. All these people are telling the youth of America to “pull themselves up by the bootstraps”. That’s a load of bullshit.
Bull
There is no more middle class in America its just rich and poor and homeless ..
So true.....rich , poor or homeless...never really hear of it that way
Truth
So technically the middle class is poor
Truth
Documentary made 6 years ago complaining about $750 rent? As of 2023, rent is twice that amount
My husband doesn't have a college degree, but found a damn good paying job making more than I do with a bachelor's. Higher education isnt the only option to gaining good employment.
So why did you go to college? Why didnt you just apply for the same job your husband has right out of high school?
It's tiring when good meaning people leave out the fact that quality technical school training is also incredibly important to the workforce and for those that college is not suitable for. Everyone in my tiny family has a college degree but that is because it was suitable for us. We have extended family members that have technical skill certificates and they are doing incredibly well too. Ergo, college is not the answer for everyone and everything. Lastly, I agree with a guy who said whatever you do get the degree stick with it (I am paraphrasing). At the end of the day when the bills come due they cannot take your education and your diplomas away from you. Plus, if you're smart you would get on the income-based payment plan so that your payments are incredibly little to almost nothing.
Such a multi-faceted problem poverty is. One cannot use a broad brush to classify and judge all those who have struggled in life due to poverty.
With that being said, it doesn’t help that all of the good jobs that unskilled people were able to do are being systematically eliminated. Furthermore it doesn’t help that college tuition rates are like paying extortion fees, with no guarantee that a degree will get someone to a good standard of living. These two problems are the biggest problems that I have seen in causing the lack of access to opportunity for Americans.
My good factory job that I had for 18 years was shipped down to Mexico. I took my NAFTA benefits and now make $100k as a trucker. I am successful in life but it took me being in the right place and right time to get to where I am. It wasn’t my own brilliant ingenuity.
If people refuse to better themselves even when they have the opportunity to do so then they are fault. But if people are systematically oppressed because of outsourcing and other factors then the effing system needs to be fixed!!!!
THANK YOU. Thank you for not being like these other idiots who keep telling us they “pulled themselves up by the bootstraps”. They forget to tell us about their connections, the programs in their area, whether they live around picket fences or barbed wires. Thank you for displaying accountability for your own hard work AND for the better circumstances you had. I’m glad you are in the six figures.
There is nothing that needs to be 'fixed'! Companies will always go where they get the biggest bang for their buck! Your jobs were eliminated because of cost. Your job as a trucker will be as well when AI takes over! Amazon already has AI powered humanoid robots doing human labor work in their warehouses! What do you think will happen when the computational power of the AI chips double every 18 months??!!!
The future is in engineering, software and there is no one that can stop it.
So for all future high school graduates - this is your future! it really depends on if you have the brains to do this work or not!!!
@@LWRC, so everyone has to have a future in engineering or software programming to be able to eat? Is that what you’re saying?
@@eddieadams2051 What is the washout rate in engineering for the US in general? How about the sciences? Or even medicine? We are a nation of 330MM and we are falling behind the curve compared to other nations around the world that value education. In this country, we value independence and free thinking which resulted in a bunch of flunkies who can't think! Not everyone is cut out for such an endeavor but we certainly are not encouraging future generations. And this has a direct impact to the economic success of this nation as well as national security!
Why do you think Taiwan can develop the world's most advanced 5nm computer chips and no one else can?
@@eddieadams2051 Maybe not just yet but you had better open your eyes.... Amazon already is testing artificial human robots powered by AI in their warehouses for moving merchandise! This is just human labor and these machines can work 24x7 with very little down time! No calling in sick, no bathroom breaks, no smoking breaks, no vacations, no complaints!!! Either you move up the food chain and understand how to manage, control, operate, maintain, program these machines or you will be replaced! This is not my rule but is where we are all headed!
One MAIN problem is that GREEDY CORPORATIONS and POLITICIANS SOLD OUT OUR JOBS to OTHER countries.We MANUFACTURE NOTHING therefore NO DESCENT JOBS!Service industry jobs DO NOT cut it and COLLEGE today is nothing but HIGH PRICED INDOCTRINATION!” Falling Down “😢
💯and getting an education just put you in big time debt. The greedy corporation created a dependent welfare system by not paying livable wages making others responsible for their living.
I'm guessing the father of the baby of the young girl didn't feel much if any of the financial burden of that one choice.
Some of that is due to the fact that the women would lose their benefits if the father WAS present in the home.
Riasing children is expensive. She should've aborted. Then neither of them would currently have a financial burden.
I think schools don’t take enough field trips. I’m all down for sending kids to museums and perhaps the zoo but I also think it’s important for them to see what they could be doing for a living in the future first-hand.
I know a couple of schools that do this. One of my little brothers old middle school used to take 8th graders on a field trip to the grocery store. Why? To show what work actually looks like. I mean sure, kids have probably gone to the grocery store with their parents but they’re often not paying attention to how and why the workers are there. It’s not bad to be a grocery store worker but I think it’s a good way to show kids what they can expect once they graduate high school. Even if a kid does get accepted to a prestigious college, they may want to make some money on the side while attending and so they’ll work at some minimum wage job while they finish college.
You often hear kids ask, “why are we learning this? Why does any of this matter?” or “I’m never gonna use the Pythagorean theorem in real life”
Our field trips in SoCal when I was 5th - 8th grade - Pio Pico's house (the last governor of Alta California) , the LA times where the newspapers came streaming off the press, the Huntington Library, where we saw Pinky and Blue boy, a vegetable warehouse where they were boxing tomatoes and other produce, and the LA City Hall. I thoroughly enjoyed it all. Field trips were my favorite part of elementary education.
I worked as a Housekeeping Supervisor in a small 25 bed facility in a rural area. Some of the high schools would bring students in and take them through every department in the hospital. What a great idea to let them know that there is coding, billing, radiology, and a host of other things. Most of us in HS think there are nurses and dr's.
I'm on a construction crew some days and when we want to make sure everything is square I get to calculate the cross corner measurement, because not everyone knows how to use the Pythagorean thereom.
That teenager who had a child, no mention of the father and what he was doing to help…That’s just so typical. No wonder poverty is a continuing problem!
And as a poor teenager go back to the skills from living in the 1960s like cloth diapers, cooking from scratch..basic food....Identifying the problem correctly.. maybe you have to move to a cheaper part of the nation..Iowa, Oklahoma, for now.....
They need to stop the irresponsible breeding
@@lisahertel2415 there has been mention of the fact that the number of teenage moms has actually DECREASED over the last several years and is not nearly as prevalent as it once was.
@brianbeecher3084 yeah but you banned abortion & that will be visible in poverty numbers..
😂😂
College is a SCAM. I dropped out in 10th grade got my GED. Went to work and here I am making $80k a year and thats only working 40hrs a week with little overtime so yes YOU CAN MAKE IT IN LIFE.
Yes, leave it to the black pastor to blame and shame the impoverished for "having the wrong mindset." 🤦🏾♀️
You better say that!!!💯👍
This whole documentary complicated what is mostly a pretty simple issue. You can’t feed a family of 4 on minimum wage, so you can’t have a family of 4 in that case. The problem was exemplified by that girl at the end: she thought she couldn’t get pregnant from one time. Why would she think that? I don’t buy the lack of birth control argument either.
This explains why alot of people of child bearing age are choosing to remain childless
Those three rules are EVERYTHING!
I woud say 21 is too early for marriage and kids in todays society.
That young mother with the baby. IF no one told you. We all make mistakes but you can be someone. It may take you more times. But if you determine you can do it.
Preach. The reason why these kids are out here jumping the gun with other kids is because they haven’t been taught any better or been shown any better examples. The youth NEEDS better sex education and better morals instilled. The parents are SO to blame. The entitlement and stupidity from so many parents in America is astounding.
Well, I'm single, mother. I work a job that paid 15.5hrs to kick off food stamps and Medicare for me. They base my income off my net income. I think that is wrong. When the income is less after taxes. Plus rent for a 2bedrrom can run from $700 to 1500. Your luck have $600. That gone after pay for car note, car insurance, utilities, gas, food, and water. You are lucky if you buy clothes, shoes, and food.
When you get your income tax refund, which should include a generous earned income credit for your kids, pay cash for a car. Then you'll have a couple of hundred extra to pay gas and insurance with. Do not get a car payment. Repeat, do not get a car payment. That 3,000 $ dollar car with get you places just fine.
@@cherylcook1942some of us though have no choice at times. Fine and dandy as long as you don’t have to incur some very expensive repair bills.
$25. A month in I ( eye ) bonds from US Treasury dept. Before you know it , you've got a nice sum to buy land , build a home , garden to reduce food bills - got to library to learn about finances, gardening and how to build things car repair , etc .. good luck !!!!
@@brianbeecher3084 You need Dave Ramsey.
Married parents? Did you ever think that’s just ideal? Many parents are too messed up to even care for themselves. Thanks for more stigma.
It is referring to finances. It is more expensive being single than a couple.
@@bobby7844 then they should say second income or more financial help. Marriage is not a solution to a financial problem. Again the poverty problem is as simple as it sounds, we need more money. Not forever, only while the children are small. Yet tax breaks & all the free loans for homeowners in “not welfare” at all! Let’s face it American was founded on taking thing’s that didn’t belong to them & stepping on the weaker person.
@@leannhorne8459 People don't have to be married. They were probably just talking concisely to make a point. Alternative wording needs more words.
A single person will never be able to keep up with a 2 income household anymore.
This is only a new issue because decades ago housing was so cheap that only 1 person per couple needed to work. However, it has become normal for 2 people per couple to now work, thus leading to higher prices.
'For the rich shall rule poor, the borrower will become a servant to the lender' quotes King Solomon in the book of Proverbs. Corporation & companies pull the monetary strings over governments. Greed, money & want is what the devil is all about. 'For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil' King Solomon quotes.
1 Peter 5:3
Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock.
Shame on the ultra rich
Solomon received wisdom,knowledge and understanding from God!
In most European counties college is FREE! I know, I live here😂. But the fact we don't pay any tuition doesn't mean we have the same acces to colledge here either. Some ppl come from poor families so they need to get a job straight out of highschool to help their families pay bills. That's the biggest problem preventing ppl getting a colledge degree in Europe, the time, some ppl can't afford to "waste" 5 years (every colledge lasts 3 or 5 years here exept medical that's 6 years from high school to graduating with the title of M.d general practice, you need more for specialization ). So ppl that come from poor families need to go to work and create that extra income to help out the family. Plus we don't live alone from the age 18 on like you do. In fact it's totally normal for everyone to live with their parents until they get married (or until they start living with their partner (married or not). And guess what, we don't call such people luzers, they are (and that kind of multi generational living is the norm here!
Free College sounds like a Dream. In America we may still have to afford rent / help our families & Somehow Magickally get a college education
@@IndigoBellyDance Yea, I feel for you 💞. Even to us here it sound like a nightmare, I mean all that student loans that come with big intrests and aren't even bancrotable, plus you've got to pay them whether you finish colledge and get a degree or you don't. I use to listen to Dave Ramsey talk show and all those poor ppl beeing tens of thousands of dollars (some even houndreds) in debt. It's pure financial abuse, for all the kids who dream about career in some field and all the parents who wish for their child to finish colledge because they never did (or because they did and they think of it as a norm). To us Europeans it sounds like a fraud and extremly unfair and a rotten deal.
Thats kinda true but there is more to that - starting in what we call junior high, in most European countries, you are given a series of tests, if you do superior work you are pushed into the free college route so to say but the majority of kids are pushed into the vocational route ad into vocational training, so many people then come to college in the United States which will accept them as oppose to staying in their own countries which they would not be able to get into higher education because they don't have the academic grades and let me tell yo, those European classes are a lot harder than what our schools are.
@@ricklundeen2722 Sorry, but that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣. Thanks for making me laugh though. Did you ever see western europes or EU colledge attadence and graduation statistics. They are twice as high as American. Statistics don't lie! And for foreigners that go to your colledges they are mostly rich midle easters and south americans, NOT europeans (we consider our education far superior than yours, plus it's free!). And we do not have any series of any test nor is it hard to get into a college here 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣. We just have one test (just like you) ar the end of highschool that has language and math part - again, just like you. You got one think right though, our high schools are much much better and comprehensivw then yours. But that doesn't make them harder or our grades lower, it just means we know how Hitler was, that Nikola Tesla invented electricity (we don't need Elon Musk to tell us that) and that Paris is not a country but a capital of France - oh, and unlike you we can (even 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣) find it on the map. Thanks for making me laugh so hard! I was just in the middle of watching Social Catfish episodes when americans get scammed for thousands and thousands (most I've seen is 1.4 M that this woman sent) od dollars to non existing internet boyfriends that always say they are from Europe but strangly always have a West African (Nigerian to be precise) accent and always need money because there are no banks where there at, or they broken a kidney 🤣😂🤣😂🤣🤣🤣 and all that stupid stuff only americans would buy. It's good for laughs, you should watch it, maybe you'll learn something. Greetings from EU!
@@ricklundeen2722 Plus, in Europe there is NO vocational training as you describes it and nobody gets pushed into anything. We do our "vocational training" in high schools. Our high schools are not like yours (where you don't learn anything) and after finishing you only have something called a "high school degree". We have very specific high schools where along with all the general knoledge we can learn to be a nurse, or an electrician or programing. And ppl who go to that kind of high school can get a job, a good paying job, straigh away or they can choose to go to university (we don't have colleges, we have universities here - think Cambridge, Sorbonne etc.. - those are just some of the biggest by the size and pupil admittion numbers..) and become a better educated and a little better payed nurse or whatever we choose to become profesionaly. That's in fact the only thing I dislike about Europe, that at the age 15 most of kids have to decide what they wanna do for the rest of their life. That's why I choose a general knoledge high school with an emphases on languages (I learned Latin, French, Italian, Spanish and English) and then choose math as a major (as you would call it) at college.
The comment about the higher formal education you get, the higher your income is not accurate. It used to be that way. Now, more people are choosing to go into more trades, which some make way more than someone with a college degree. It's more about the tangible skills you obtain, the better you do as far as a career. Don't get me wrong, a high school diploma is the bare minimum. It has been shown there is a significant different in having high school diploma versus a GED or no diploma. But I agree that this is a multifaceted issue that will not be fixed overnight. It will take more than just changes in policies; need a change in mindset.
The babies in the river analogy was genius. That is a great illustration of the complexity of the problem.
I grew up in working class family. I got an engineering degree and never got a job in 15 years. Still in poverty. Learned three different white collar skills and still no job ever. Still trying
Interviews are always the same. We like you but we pick someone else. I am now seeing if I can get into Salesforce. Been trying for 1.5 years. I have dream just to have one white collar job in my life and actually get a promotion just once.
Companies prefer to hire people from foreign countries on H1B visas. If they complain, out they go back to India or other impoverished country they came from. It's obscene what politicians have allowed to happen to Americans.
@@truther001this is all just damn capitalism and outsourcing so they won’t have to pay a damn thing for labor. They WANT disposable workers and they know we Americans KNOW AND WANT BETTER. They have failed us. I am planning on getting an engineering degree like the person who commented…..and I’m starting to feel like it might not even be worth it. I have always dreamed of college, I love education I love learning…..but America has made college into a cash cow and a degree into dust.
I grew up poor, I also have several life long disabilities. I was held back at every cost from doing anything with work. I was pushed thru school, and lived on $0-3000 per year for 13 years. Went thru a state program for a certificate degree, Got into the field, and my income never changed putting in 100-120 hours a week. Now my disabilities have major problems from all of this and Im not able to work since. My employment attempts ended with disability. On disability now, told im lazy by society with several severe physical and other health issues, and not allowed to eat, have needs met or have housing due to society and work requirements in 2024. Employment and education is not and wont be able to do anything but harm me or put my life at risk.. DO you think education is a problem now??
The whole mindset in the U.S. of respect for people whom 'pull themselves up by their own bootstraps' is based on an absurd notion...that saying 'Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps' is itself something to describe an absurd situation!! Meaning: it is, in reality, COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE to actually 'pull yourself up by your own bootstraps'!!!
FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT!
These people are giving out stories in the comments with their “bootstraps” mindset…..thinking they’re inspiring and just for an ego boost. But they forget to tell us whether they were a single or dual parent home, whether they grew up within a picket fence or barbed wire, their connections, whether they were black white brown….there are SO many factors but they THINK they got past it all like a fucking God.
The most impoverished are the injured, ill, disabled and elderly. If you have good health and are still young enough you at least have a chance to not fall into the worst class of poverty. I agree with the late George Carlin who stated we call it the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe in it. Poverty will only increase under a rapacious corporatacracy which by design and intent will fleece those who are the most vulnerable while the upper 10% of wage earners (aka the complicit and collaborative) gloat over having "made it on their own". During the past 50 years I've seen and known large numbers of people who thought they were firmly established middle class or above now scraping along at the bottom of the economic scale in shock and often bitter at how temporary their former status actually was and how quickly they lost it. I gave up on bullshit "I did it on my own" and "if I can do it so can anyone" stories a long time ago. Under our corporacratic/governmentally owned/controlled increasingly socialistic society the more you make the more will be taken from you and no one is immune to that. The better than y'all propagandists can go peddle their hogshit elsewhere.
I studied computer science not because I liked computer science. I studied computer science because it's the only way I could get a job. I would have studied nursing or pharmacy if I had a clue when I was in my early 20s. I came from a family with no guidance from anyone. My father had 5th grade education, my mother had 6th grade education. The only advice I got from the brother was to become an A/C technician. It's one blind leading another.
In the United States, it's not so hard to get out of poverty. If you study hard, and are not cursed by mental deficiency, you will break out of the cycle of poverty. You need to study what's marketable, instead of just what you like.
Welcome to the real world. Imagine Trump without family connections and the golden spoon up his ass . He never would have made pimp 😂😂
Better RFK without fancy name and connections in Washington. His stuttering ass freezing under a bridge. 😢
Well I went for nursing but at the end of it the instructor destroyed me- I spent the next 5 years wondering what happened and working at minimum pay or nurses aide Jon's. Finally I became a single mom, went back to college and got a bachelor's in social work. Most people in social work are more accepting than nursing instructors and nurses. Much better environment for mental health!
I feel very privileged today and I classify myself as "upper poor". In 2008 when Obama bailed out Wall St instead of the people who voted for him, the bank foreclosed on a house I had purchased in 2007. I stopped paying. It took until 2010 for the B of A to have me escorted off the property. In that time, every cent I would have paid toward my mortgage, I saved. Just as I was being ejected off the property, my friend wanted to sell his property, valued at the time, bottom of the market, at $35K. We shook hands on it. I handed him $10K, then paid about $1000/mo until it was paid off in 2011. In early 2022 it was valued at $450K. But I'm still here. My friend saved my life because I would definitely still be working if he hadn't offered me this house at the bottom of the market in 2011. Plus... Prop 13 - my property tax only goes up 0.1% every year from its $35K basis. I'm essentially living for free. So ... if you're living in a Prop 13 state and you own your own house - YOU ARE RICH!
@51:49 What you do between the ages of 14-24....this is the most important sentence of this entire video! This is absolutely true and if you don't have the right direction, preparations in high school, you will not get into the correct universities to study the important majors which will pay off significantly decades later in your life!!!
I see this crystal clear with 20/20 hindsight and I'm glad I put in the efforts back when I was young!
I didn't know poverty was linked to later difficulties in life, then I got old and learned it for myself.
AI stoc,ks are the boom now. I’m getting as much as I can and even now some have risen by a whooping 150%. Does this ring a bell? Another crypto/NFT boom is here. Mary Elizabeth Huxley has been a HUGE influence in my success with this so I got to mention her too. You can sear,ch her up. I’m brimming with excitement at how much I’d make in this new era we just entered!
Oh look, it's the "college = success" lie.
I’m glad you didn’t fall for that, I did but not for long.
The people I know who went to college, and who are successful have REAL degrees. They are pharmacists, Dentists, Doctors, and computer people.
The college people I know with worthless degrees like communication studies, art, and feminist studies they are all broke as a joke.
Only go to college if you are getting something that has real value. Not bull crap.
Are you shunning higher education entirely? Or just specific venues? Educating yourself beyond the mandatory high school graduation, makes a person a much more valuable worker. Indeed, there is a barrier to much of the higher paying jobs,even at the entry level. You cannot even get your boot in the door without proving you have the mental capacity and discipline to prove you're suitable for that job. You don't get to be a dr with a middle school education. When you're saying but,but, but, I can pull myself up and build my own job/money/business. But you still cannot crack open the door to any position that would raise generations of your family out of poverty.
It’s not a lie..
😂😂😂 LOL 😆😆 !!! So true !!!!!
I make 150k as an elevator mechanic.i have medical dental, a pension and 401k. I dropped out of college for the trade. I have no student loan debt and a home worth 750k with almost 400k in equity. College wasnt my answer, God and the trades was. I didnt have children until after i got married. Trades trades trades
I think we should learn a skill in high school that we can earn a living if we decide not to further our education for whatever reason. Learn how to be a handyman, bookkeeping, coding, operate a small business, clean a house, garden and landscaping.
I got my GED 7 years ago. I didn't have the confidence to go to college back then, but I do now. I am pursuing Construction Management. Please pray for me!
Very interesting. These issues are happening all over the world, even worse in some places. Even in Europe, because the standard of living has gone up so much its unattainable for many. For example Switzerland seems idyllic and is rated best country all the time, and yet there's a lot of homelessness there because if you don't make a really good income, you can't afford to live there.
Yes, definitely in Canada too. Lots of homelessness here. Housing is so unaffordable here. Pay is low.
All you need to do is teach poor people how to take care of themselves and wean them off welfare. "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat" (2nd Thessalonians 3:10, KJV). Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Establish the Kingdom in Jerusalem and save the world from the tyranny of Democracy (Daniel 7:7, KJV)!
No. I lived in Switzerland and there is NO homelesness here. If you can't afford an apartmant the state gives you one ti live in. It's called socializam and 99% to a 100% of European countries are socialist (help for the poor, unemployed, disabeled, free colledge, free quality health care, mandatory one year to three years payed maternity leave, free daycare for the kids, free high quality schools (high school graduation is mandatory here!), and even the pooriest countries on the continent have ALL these things (Ukraina has a three year payed maternaty leave ect.. Switzerland having homeless 😂😅😂😅😂 that's the stupidest thing I've heard in a loooong time. No, not everyone lives degenerate like in America 😂😅😂. You americans cause of your lack of universal healthcare and payed mathernity leaves are a running joke in western Europe...
Sounds like the US, increasingly.
@@cathielee8450 That's how the "system" is perpetuated.
We shouldn’t need to go passed high school anymore. Not with internet at our fingertips.
Who is responsible for solving the misfortune of the underclass? Government? Charities? Rich people? Education system? Or should the individual recognize the tools available to them?
@@Desiree_Rose the parents can be involved in their children's education also. The thing that would help children the most is reading books.
Inflation doesn't help
Don’t blame people for being poor in a capitalist system which requires poverty to function. #GTFOH
That's the trick. 💯👍
The system NEEDS slaves who are worked to the bone, who only have despair and see no way out.
That’s their nearly free labor in the American way. OR…pull the rug out and go to India or China. Leave Americans stranded with no job.
That’s the American way.
@@tiffanyribbons that part!
Sounds like a college ad.
make 6 figures, 0 degrees, 0 school debt, trade certificate for 2 yr - you dont have to graduate college to succeed, all you have to do is learn a trade that society needs and you will make 6 figures
They mentioned a trade multiple times.
I’m a working poverty where I make enough not to qualify for any government hand outs. Now , the one that lives off of government gets to stay home with their children , low housing payment , free medical , free food , that’s a good live right there. So what is poverty?
The solution can’t be that everyone gets an education or vocational training. We are always going to need people in unskilled jobs. And there will always be people that have to support themselves and their families on that income- it can’t always be teenagers. If it was only teenagers working those jobs, then who would be going to serve you fast food during school hours? Who would be going to check you out at the grocery store during school hours? The solution is to have every single job give a livable wage. Even the most unskilled jobs. Someone has to work those jobs, and that someone, no matter who they are, deserves a livable wage. Perceived laziness should never restrict someone from having the HUMAN RIGHTA of adequate housing, food, water, and clothing. And quite frankly, having things you enjoy or look forward to is a human right, too. A livable wage should allow a few luxuries every now and then too. The solution will NEVER be to just accept that some people have to live in poverty. The solution is to design a society where poverty is non-existent. And that cannot be solved by individuals picking themselves up by their bootstraps like this documentary suggests.
Good point!
Well also lets be real if u are using the internet for tik tok and not learning and information, well thats not a structural problem thats a discipline problem. I was the same way just wasting time.
Their are structural problems that need to be addressed but we allcan practice discipline right now. To be successful u need discipline.
33:00 She didn't think she would get pregnant because she was a straight-A student, did charity work, and did community service work? I grew up around these people and this is how their logic works : ).
Poverty has been around since the beginning of time. There has to be people in poverty for the world to function. It can never be eliminated, only transferred.
Don’t allow negative people to talk you out from your dreams
Only if you're set on failure 😂
Sad thing is, money isn't even real. 😢😢😢
Sad how it has ruined lives for centuries
@@reyr.7439 probably most of our species intellectual existence has been based on the pyramid schematics. Always the one on the top of the pyramid does the least action and yet reaps all the lovely benefits of the individual putting forth all action. It's in everything and everywhere. Poison frfr
Try living without money and see how real that is
@@debbieframpton3857you are super funny, that's exactly what I'm saying!! If we go off grid, can you eat money? Or drink money? Or trade an animal it's life in trade of money? NO WAY!!! Lol!! Our species fears living wildly amongst all other species of Earth, we are not at the top of the foodchain without numbers and tools/weapons. Thus, the invention of monetary status to uphold these values that keep us top predators of planet Earth. 😊😊😊🤙🤙🤙
@@debbieframpton3857reminds me of the adage that love May makes the world go round, but money greases the wheel.
Its just slavery, but they don’t call it that way
Because people don’t want to see that reality
I can't hear a lot of what the speakers are saying because the "background" music is so oppressively in the forefront!! STOP!
I was 21 and I wanted to go to work but my parents said no
I never had any kids
I went to collage in my 40,s and failed miserably
I'm on public government disability checks and they force me to live on 9,904 a year
I am a real loser
thank god you arent breeding
LOL at least your honest.
Yet you have people whom manipulate the system (via government assistance) that are healthy enough to become productive members of society but too lazy to do so are practically living a luxurious lifestyle, while those of us has a job or two having trouble making ends meat. There's something completely wrong with this system
YOU CANT HEP NO ONE IF THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO HELP THEMSELVES. DRIVE AND DEDICATION IS THE ONLY WAY.
Wendy you are going to have a future. It will be harder with your son by your side but i believe in you. Your story about how your father treated you and continues to treat you reminds of my story. Go back to school if you can go into nursing or any other healthcare field and things will turn out okay.
Wendy needs to learn how to make better decisions...
Higher education is not affordable. It should be free.
It used to be, but it's no longer feasible. The average college professor makes $100k+.
I don't see people lining up to vote for a bill to make college free only to hit be a massive income tax to pay for give or take 200k college professors, not to mention associate professors, assistant professors, instructors, lecturers, coaches, and auxiliary staff.
The people who want it can't afford it, and the people who can afford it can also afford to send their children to private schools.
Community College is a thing. It's cheap and with grants it can be free. DO NOT, get student loans for. That will get you a skills certificate or even an AA degree. You can start taking community College classes in high school. When you decide to got to a 4 year college, you should only need to be there for 2 years.
@@cherylcook1942sad that so many can no longer have much fun in life, which was common when I was coming of age. And wasn’t technology supposed to free us up so that we could have more leisure? Instead we have gone the other way with a.very acute “I don’t have time” syndrome prevailing in the culture.
There is no such thing as "free".
Somebody paying for it.
College in cities USED to be free until those older boomers and silent gen. changed it 😢
it's expensive being poor
Anyone know the song at the start?
2:12 - Is this Studs Terkel? Sounds like him...
True! College is not about how smart you are but how willing you are to work
Pastor Rudy's homeless shelter closed down due to no money.
The pastor is wrong there. Beyonce was well connected to succeed, she had the whole field of success well prepared for her to just get in board and enjoy! Its for THiS Reason the Destiny's child fell apart 🙄
I was shocked that made into this video! I turned it off after that, and looked for this comment. Beyonce was NEVER in poverty so she didnt have anything to climb out of. Her dad was an executive and had connections. They lost credibility with this
👍
Like Trump pulling himself up 😂😂😂
while studying, surveying poverty, speed of light goes by and human advances to another growth development stage. Looking thru a rear view mirror (marshall mcclure)
So sad the teenage girl wasn't aware unprotected sex leads to pregnancy. Only takes one time. The dad, however, was vile. If he was so against her getting pregnant, he should have been more involved. But the fact he hates that she kept her son is just wrong. That poor baby may have come at a bad time, but he is a little blessing. I just wish society gave moms like her support.
Trade skills. Unions.
the real problem is the federal government over spending. if people wanted the problem to go away, they would stop the government from overspending, and that will not happen as long as they are dependent on the government.
I never thought I would not get pregnant? The fact is unless she had an immaculate conception she was having unprotected sex. That kind of takes her out of victim status.
I was married, had a child, but 1000$ a month child support in Canada? I couldnt keep up with the government taxes! I had to give hi. Up
Poverty is as much a socioeconomic issue as it is a mindset issue. That's why people will win the lotto and go broke again. Likewise, upper-class business owners can go bankrupt and build another business. Their networks and mindsets are completely different, you can't compare the two.
You're absolutely right poverty works that way because the people that got the money the rich people won't let the poor people get ahead they don't want us to get ahead they want us to stay exactly where we're at at the bottom where they can continue to spend their millions
Well I am a very disability person and I did try to get a good grades and work permit to get the results done before I have been able to live with in my means I think it's just gotten more worce 😮.
More worce? Educate yourself, Don’t rely on anyone else to help.
@@perfectscottyI was thinking that. The whole paragraph was illiterate which keeps people at the bottom of the heap. Education is key!
Did you ever think part of her disability just may be a brain injury?! I don't think so! Besides, English is one of the hardest languages since letters can sound different, words sound the same but are spelled different and mean different things.
@@mlkirkl09 Exactly
Poverty is mindset. The mind of the child needs to be exposed to success conscious. A success conspicuous mind also includes money management and the purpose of actions (end goal). ***break*** Having children is sure way to lead someone into poverty. So women, STOP BIRTHING if they're going blame you for being the parent that stayed. Save yourselves women.
Such a great documenary!
I really eanna know what a living wage is. Cause me living inside with lights and water and being able to eat is a iving wage but the girl doen the street thinks living in a 5 bed 3 bath home on 6 lots with 3 car garage with 3 brand new cars while working 20 hours a week is a livung wage. We need to be real here. These folks refuse to gain skills but demand the higher pay
Go through the hood and count all the people smoking, drinking and tattooed... they can't be too poor cause that stuff ain't cheap.
Another question that needs to be answered is. What defines quantity of life ??
I couldn’t add to my previous post. If the wealth was distributed for all people you could have a child and be very comfortable so don’t believe what these people are telling you.They really do know how to mind “F”the people.The one lady said you shouldn’t believe what people say that you are lazy you don’t wanna work and all that well don’t say it. They say all the negative to a person then turn around and say the positive don’t say it all the negative don’t say it at all. One lady said all the immigrants to come over have such a hard time. Does she not realize all the things that she said is happening to American’s
So many immigrants cry wolf out here, not realizing THEY CHOSE TO COME HERE. Almost ALL of us are suffering in America. Unless you’re a billionaire celebrity or giant.
Not to mention the recent influx of immigrants showing up at the border shouting out that “AMERICA PROMISED US SHELTER”
America didnt promise ANYONE SHIT. Not even our own citizens are owed shelter. And we can thank capitalism for that.
i meet a women in 3rd world have 6 kids, she let the kids live on the street or giving to others poor family. she told me god will take care of them. it is their destiny. almost all of then dont have money to go to kindergarden.
The most successful ppl/groups not only went to college but spare no expense to get their kids to college.
The saddest game I play is asking the barista what degree they earned
“We have to start at identifying the root causes of poverty” - goes on vague rant of “poor choices” and nothing deeper beyond that. 😪
The world's capitalist system. Capitalism evolved in the 17th century. Capitalism wasn't designed to be good for working people. Capitalism is a good economic system for the minority. Capitalism is a rigged economic system against the world's workers.
Choices are important. I've made my share good and bad 😢
Thank you for what you just said ma'am the people don't look at it that way they think you should be just like them pathetic of humanity isn't it
To the young mother prove them wrong dont doubt yourself
The most kids that don’t do well in school has some kind of dyslexia or some kind of special learning but they don’t get the proper help for that , they just say your lazy or poor or whatever, and it mostly affect young boys although some girls do get it but majority it is boys , or mental health issues due to trauma , which they don’t get proper help for as soon as possible .
You mean males? Been there, done that. Female teachers bias girls and should be banned from teaching boys 😮
Statistics bear it out whether you like the results or not.
Welfare neighbors make more than I do who work
Time to get real! Most people CAN’T become doctors, lawyers, CEO’s, etc. Most people WON’T be able to have their self-fulfilling dream job doing what they love. Learn to consider others before yourself. Go get a job, any job so long as it’s not illegal or immoral. What ever happened to being willing to make sacrifices?
Is there a benefit system in America?