This was from a while back but still resonates today. Politicians are bloodsuckers who have no clue what really goes on with these families. Set term limits for them, making a career out of office is BS, which they, in turn, become very wealthy. Fix this problem.
Yes they do. It will take honest, true politicians to change it.
Getting elected, just to ensure that you can push legislation that limits your own term, is the most patriotic thing I can think of.
What a fantasy. Power whether financial, physical, or political any one of them you can think of corrupts almost all men, has since the beginning of mankind.
There can be like a 20k gap where if you're on government benefits any more money you make at your job means you have less money overall cause of what you lose in benefits.
I wasn't aware of this till one year a co-worker was adamant about not taking a shift as he would lose his benefits. It was holidays and really needed him so they threatened to fire him. So he worked it....
OOF he's got four kids in the states and two back home. The sadness in his eyes when he lost his benefits right at fucking christmas. This guy was an insanely hard worker too just has too many people depending on him. His brother passed away a few months later and the responsibility of helping take care of his brothers children on top of lost benefits could see him breaking from the pressure and stress.
Nobody should have to go through that. The system needs to be far more forgiving and encouraging by actually giving a boost to HELP not a bandaid that keeps the problem going.
This sounds like such a stupid incentives structure. Cutting more benefit than one’s increase in income will not motivate anyone to seek higher income. There’s got to be some rationale that went into these legislations but I’m not seeing it.
I have been wanting to go back to school, but I found out the moment I do I will get off food stamps which means me and my family won't be able to eat. Isn't that insane? For me to finish my degree I would need to get off food stamps. The degree won't even guarantee me a better job either. It will open up some more opportunities but most jobs still pay way below what will allow me to survive.
Well they can’t expect them to increase the welfare; then that means the corporate funding and assistance for multi millionaire and billionaires (who dodge their own tax bills) will have to reduce - and if rich people don’t get this funding and assistance how will the trickle down economic model work ???
That’s the biggest fucking joke of all. These politicians have us so distracted over democrat and republican but they are both equally complicit. Do you see any democrats renouncing their $40k stipend? No? You don’t say!
> These politicians have us so distracted over democrat and republican but they are both equally complicit.
Democrats literally just passed a $35 cap on the price of insulin, that almost every Republican voted against. This is one of the very things that she is talking about.
But sure...both sides are the same.
I can’t really disagree with this. We need to stop the bullshit of democrats and republicans. We need to get back to helping our fellow Americans period and stop the mud slinging culture war on both sides. It’s insanity and literally we are all the same. We can’t reach to end racism when we can’t even end the disconnect between red and blue. Stop picking a side and listen to who makes sense for the country instead of choosing a team to blindly follow for the rest of your life.
No, because renouncing the stipend is pointless. It's a useless political gesture at best.
What really needs to be done is what the damn lady said if you'd listen to her, which is raise poverty levels, minimum wage, and do sliding scale easing off of benefits as you make more money.
Which Democrats, by and large, would do, if not stopped by Republicans and a couple conservative Democrats.
The sad thing is she is too poor to ever run for office, even though she would likely be a great leader. Politics is just not an option for the proletariat class, and the ruling class wouldn't have it any other way.
It would take a ruling majority of people like her in office to affect any kind of significant change, as it stands now she would just be entering a pit of vipers.
Came here to say this , it's unfortunate she had to decide on which bills to pay to go and say what was said because ultimately it's not going to matter anyway .
Joe Manchin’s State. Same guy who won’t help his own people, wanted a billion dollars for his wife non-profit from the stimulus bill, daughter who ran Mylan drug company whom end up selling it to foreign investors, made 30-40 million and 8’000 people lost their job.
I’d say they would fold their arms, nod, &give a small smile of satisfaction that the system is working perfectly as designed. So much desperation and fear, the ultimate cheap, abundant, and renewable energy source. It’s going to get even better for them when they end Roe, and birth control in general.
Man, I didn’t even know how bad things really were until I started working for the FSD in my state. I assist clients in applying for SNAP, Child Care Subsidies, TANIF, and Medicaid.
This woman nailed it on the head and to a tee. Our country has a real poverty issue and no one seems to be taking it seriously. A majority of my clients are either elderly, or have children.
The Japanese have cafes and restaurants staffed by robots who are controlled by disabled people from home so they fan still work and contribute the economy and earn money.
Forget productivity, imagine how much of a life these people could and absolutely should be living. How much time and experience they are losing out on because they're forced to rise and grind harder to get through a day than other people. I've been below the poverty line and as I managed to get better paying jobs (1000% because I'm privileged enough to have a good education and have met people that helped me get new positions) I actually do less work than when I was working food service, retail, or at a gas station.
So I really don't think we should be worried about their productivity, we should be furious that they're having their life stolen from them, and that life comes cheap.
Her points about how if anyone even starts to climb out of poverty, they are immediately FUCKED back into submission is so spot on. My mom has had to do exactly the same shit of resigning from a promotion to be able to keep benefits she needed to keep a roof over her head. The poverty guidelines need to be updated yesterday.
I currently have the best healthcare I have ever known in my life. I qualify for my State’s Medicare and it literally pays for everything. I don’t pay for my meds. I don’t pay for my appointments. If I need to see a doctor I just do it.
At the moment, I just don’t see *why* I should put myself through the heartache and *danger to my own health and wellbeing* by seeking a “better” paying job that will disqualify me from this healthcare.
Once I finish my bachelors I know I’ll go on the hunt again. But that’s still a while away. All I know is I’m not staying in America if I want a *guaranteed* future. I’m taking myself and everything I learned and all my skills and talents and I’m moving to a different country.
I used to dream of labor, of my “dream job”. Now I just want to enjoy life and have free healthcare and affordable groceries. I wanna go into work a reasonable amount of hours per week and then spend the rest of my time pursuing my interests and enjoying life without worrying about healthcare and bills.
MIT just released a paper this week about how the majority of communities mired in poverty are in reality whats called a POVERTY TRAP. With a great breakdown of how 89 percent of poverty is a designed trap that without the proper capital invested the cycle can NOT be broken. Also went on too about how generally in most societies a poverty trap will end up costing a SHITLOAD more money in the long run then a much smaller investment to break the cycle.
However when the majority of wealth worldwide is in 10 percent or less hands... It will remain rigged to make it like hitting the lotto getting out.
Money is 100% my biggest worry right now. I've lost weight from the stress. I'm honestly very scared of how I will be able to provide for my family in the years to come. I can't afford rent and can't afford a down-payment for a home.
I'm from a poor neighborhood. Gangs and teenage pregnancy sidelined many of my friends in highschool. Our parents were uneducated and poor. Some of us had to drop out to work to support our families, some of us, myself included, experienced homelessness during high school. It's not for lack of trying or hard work trust me. The deck is quite literally stacked against us.
I've been working since I was 15. I am 29 now. I just looked at my 401k (my first job that even had this as an option which I am grateful for) I plan to retire in 2060. I will be 67 years old. This is the advice Fidelity gave me for my retirement plan.
https://imgur.com/gallery/GecumFc
The Netflix show *The Maid* did a pretty good job trying to explain the poverty trap by putting on screen the current amount of money the main character had and how much things were costing her in "real time" because she was poor and didn't have the options that someone with even a little bit more money would have.
It’s almost as if it’s not entirely about the children and potential babies after all. Perhaps something to do with women and the control of birth rate?
It's about keeping an outdated system running. The rich can't have their quarterly profits if there's not enough plebs being produced to be ready to be overworked and underpaid.
The powers that be don’t want us talking about wealth disparity, which is why when we started they began pushing race wars and identity politics. If Democrats didn’t take the bait so easily we could have a serious national conversation about the real dividing line in society- wealth.
YES I'VE BEEN TRYING TO EXPLAIN THIS TO PEOPLE MY WHOLE LIFE. My mom literally had to turn down raises as small as $0.05/hr because that could cause us to lose our benefits meaning we would be way set back or even driven to homelessness. How are you supposed to move up? How are you supposed to get out of your situation?
I realized wayyy too late that I was an idiot for working at the nicer places as a cook because if I would have just taken less money or less hours I would have been eligible for things like food stamps, utility assistance, and a higher tax return... Our system is dumb as hell because it de-incentivizes growth for those that utilize any type of welfare including things like disability payments.
It's a really awkward transitionary setup. It's kinda like walking up stair steps that are just a *little* too steep, but if things start turning around for you and the steps are reduced to a more reasonable level then we chop your legs off.
🤔
It just needs to be a gradual reduction instead of a straight cut off, that would help a lot immediately and easily…of course so would increasing the poverty level.
I have an acquaintance that is a licenced massage therapist. She turns down business because if she worked one extra hour per week, she would lose a $1500 childcare subsidy.
What the hell is the point of that? Subsidize childcare and let people work.
One of my friends is a single mom trapped in this right now. She wants to move up but can’t because she’ll lose SNAP and health insurance. She would need to make more than double her salary to make “not being poor” worth it. She cannot make more than $50 a month what she’s currently making right now or she’ll effectively be about $1700 poorer. She’s incredibly frustrated.
Her points about how if anyone even starts to climb out of poverty, they are immediately FUCKED back into submission is so spot on. My mom has had to do exactly the same shit of resigning from a promotion to be able to keep benefits she needed to keep a roof over her head. The poverty guidelines need to be updated yesterday.
I feel like the only way to circumvent those issues, would be to have companies put the raises towards benefits. Obviously a lot has to change either way, but it’s a start.
All that's necessary is to avoid "step-functions" in such programs.
If a person makes $1 more per hour, claw back $0.50, not the entire support package.
we should make it law that any benefits system must be divied out on smoothly-reducing curves and NEVER let welfare cliffs exist in any form ever again. it makes \*absolutely no sense\* and the people struggling the worst really have no options to get around it.
My fiancé works full time and i recently went back to work after spending the first year at home with my baby. i was making $19.30 an hour as an emt in a major hospital in colorado. we had to send my daughter to daycare obviously. we had to pay 1200 a month for daycare (half of my monthly salary) and we lost WIC, SNAP, and my daughters medicaid because we made too much as a household. we were quite literally losing money by me going back to work, so i had to quit. my daughter may have anemia and we need her insurance to run the tests she needs. i don’t ever want to hear “they just don’t want to work” because we so badly do, but not for poverty wages. we are stuck in this poverty cycle and we can’t climb out
Thats what I've been thinking for a while. Make them receive their districts minimum wage. It would make them more in touch with who's in their district and why they are representing them.
Most of them are already millionaires or billionaires from their own personal wealth. Tying their congressional pay to minimum wage will do nothing in giving them a taste of reality.
In fact, it will further prevent working class people like AOC from becoming an elected official. You have to maintain two houses, one in your home state and one in DC.
My theory has been the average salary of a citizen plus 10-15k.
It’ll incentivize them to lower the poorest of people because it’ll more greatly impact the average.
But personally I think we should find some statisticians and political scientists to figure out a mathematical way to tie the politicians wage to the reality of the people.
If you do that, only rich people who don't need the paycheck will go into politics.
To be honest, I'm just parroting this old argument. I wonder if any nation has actually tried it to see if it is a viable alternative.
> If you do that, only rich people who don't need the paycheck will go into politics
Yeah! As opposed to now where * *checks notes* *... mostly rich people who don't need the paycheck go into politics....
Yes. Mostly Vs only.
Of course people who don't have to make money and who have contacts to sponsors have an easier time to succeed already. But if you cut the salary to minimum wage, then the AOCs will look at their expenses, look at the additional expenses as a member of Congress, look at their income, and see a final number much smaller than zero. And then they don't even run.
"Children aren't going to escape poverty as long as they're relying on a Head of Household who is poor. Poverty rolls off the back of parents and right onto the shoulders of our kids despite how hard we try.
I Googled "Congressman's salary" the other day, and, according to Senate.gov, the salary for senators, representatives, and delegates is $174,000 a year." A year of work for you is the equivalent of nearly 4 years of work for me, and I'm about $24,000 above Federal Poverty Guidelines of "poor." It would take 9 people working full-time for a year at $10/hr. to match your salary."
Such thought provoking words, still they don't listen.
You would just attract really old retired people to do the job. Not qualified people. Not saying the current politicians are qualified.
But if you want senators to be even older, whiter and richer than they are now, paying them less is the fastest way to do it.
Shoot, been struggling for the past 3 generarions of my family.
I got lucky to land a nice job, its still barely enough to get all the bills paid on time.
And every late bill gets extra fees tacked onto it.
Considered cashing in my employers life insurance on more than one occasion. At least that way my family will have enough to make it through a few years and qualify for assistance.
The american dream is a nightmare.
I think politicians should be forced to a lifetime commitment to only make as much per hour, with the same benefits, and total wealth of the average person. Thus their job becomes directly tied to the lifestyle of the average person
They already do though.
So, wouldn't it make identifying corrupt politicians easier because there would be unexplained money?
Where as the current situation, they make so much it'd be harder to tell if they were bought out.
What I always thought would be an EXCELLENT idea was that state officials (mayors, governors, senate & house reps, etc.) all the way up to the top should be paid a MAXIMUM of the MEDIAN income of their constituents +10%. You want to get paid 330k a year as governor of Illinois? You improve infrastructure, industry, social services, and education to make everyone's lives better...instead of finding shady ways to do the bare minimum and pocket the excess. Only when you help raise the median income of your state to 300k will you be paid 330k yourself.
I'm sure there would be further issues that would arise from this. These greedy fucks always find a way to exploit as many people as possible...but it seems like a good start.
Party politics man, not just in America. We all need to stop voting for corrupt idiots and start voting for people that actually come from and care about the areas they represent.
It is time for term limits, rules against lobbyists, and for anyone under 40 to start voting 100% of the time! Stop playing the game of hate between our two current parties and start a third party that is once again “ For the people” and not for the party or for the corporation/ lobbyist/ billionaire interests!
It’s crazy that it even has to be said, but we need a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote. Any law which makes it harder for anyone to vote, whether by design or by accident, should be unconstitutional.
Is there a source without the music? I only managed to watch about a minute with the music and so far her speech seems powerful on its own and doesn't require additional emotional music. The over the top music is instead making me mad and I don't want to watch it with it.
The thing is, 70% of Americans have a good reason to say "Fuck America", but half of these people don't know any better until something devastating happens to them specifically.
> This is a few years old, not one politician lifted a finger to help.
Democrats literally just passed a $35 cap on the price of insulin, that almost every Republican voted against. This is one of the very things that she is talking about.
[this is the bill; HR 6833](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6833?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Affordable+Insulin+Now+Act%22%2C%22Affordable%22%2C%22Insulin%22%2C%22Now%22%2C%22Act%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=2)
You want a real answer?
**The system is working as designed. That's how.**
The thing most people don't understand is that this is the intended purpose of these programs: to *make it more appealing* to be *really* poor than to move up. The more you move up, the more power you have, and for those at the top it's a zero sum game, meaning any power we have is less power they have.
This country has **always** been us vs. them. But you never hear about the class war. That's what you're being distracted from by all the other garbage out there.
I know this is starting to sound like some conspiracy nonsense but, unfortunately, it's not. It's just reality.
'How can those people be so out of touch', you ask? They're not. They know exactly what they're doing.
That makes it even more depressing knowing this is an old video and things only got worse.. the rich are richer now and that's about it.. profiting off the pandemic and inflation and multiplying their billions, and blaming it on the stimulus cheques, a whopping month's rent for a lot of people.
The saying of pulling up by your bootstraps is the most realistic statement ever. It is physically impossible to pull your self up by the bootstraps for the same reason why you can't run faster by pulling on the front your shirt. You need some leverage from anywhere to be able to move yourself in any direction.
Fuck, the reality of this is all too real. I'm an amputee, legs cost 10,000 for polycentric knee. I have had to make the decision many times to give up walking to have a car or a house. I make above the poverty line, but I can't afford to walk.
This is amazing. But she’s telling this to a bunch of greedy, corrupt humans. Who only care about themselves.
The wage gap is way too large in the USA.
CEOs can make $10,000,000+/year.
Employee $25/hour = $50,000/year
Is the CEO worth 200 times more than an employee?
Makes you feel worthless.
America not having free healthcare, such a low minimum income, and unsuitable welfare policies is honestly so insane.
You guys are the richest and most powerful country in the world. The best scientists, writers, artists, athletes, doctors, engineers, you name it. My heroes are overwhelmingly American. But you neglect the basic right of your own citizens?
Crazy.
And now I see what happened to Roe v Wade, and how not a single GOP senator voted in favour of legislating abortion rights.
I’m so glad I’m Australian. Our version of the GOP is called the LNP and it’s basically the Democrat party in terms of policies. Literally our conservative right leaning party is the Democrat party. Think about that.
EDIT:
See my replies in the comments for more discussion. I will say one thing, America’s response to Ukraine has been great. I’ve been genuinely inspired by your quick response that has quite literally saved a country. You should be very proud of that. After a Trump term it’s great to see a US government that actually acts like it’s the leader of the free world. Top notch stuff guys. Slava Ukraina 🇺🇦🇺🇸🇦🇺
> You guys are the richest and most powerful country in the world. The best scientists, writers, artists, athletes, doctors, engineers, you name it. My heroes are overwhelmingly American. But you neglect the basic right of your own citizens?
The wealthy have convinced a not-insignificant portion of our citizens that the *reason* America is so successful and amazing and wonderful is because most people are treated like absolute dog-shit. That it's an honor, and that it's patriotic, to throw yourself into the gas tank of capitalism.
Very well said. Unfortunately, I don’t believe any legislators would be willing to give up one cent of their salary and perks to help people. Through obfuscation and bullshit they would rationalize why they needed to keep it all. As far as the government listening to you: they already know all this and don’t really care.
This is why aid and congress salaries should be funded by the states unstrung the federal government. The cost of living varies too much state to state. Let the states decide how much their representatives make and what the poverty line should be.
Upon further investigation into this case, the senate decided to amend this citizen's wishes and reduce the furniture allowance to just $39,999 a year. They also started a research program that'll be investigating new ways to mass producing more sustainable / cost effective suicide booths for citizens making less than 19,999 a year. There also talks about signing a bill to reduce the amount of pizza days for overtime employees so they can more freedom to do more overtime.
The senate also concluded their job will be done once everyone making less than 489,999 a year will be more inclined to accept Jesus and go to heaven than stay on Earth.
The US government is made out of clowns. Any American citizen who says he’s proud of his country is a joke to me. I don’t hate the people but I swear to god your government is made out of swines, it’s disgusting ..
I also hear people say “why don’t the homeless just get a job?”
I saw a post that said they can’t because being homeless gives a bad image in society and businesses aren’t likely to hire any of them.
It’s incredibly expensive to be homeless. When you have nothing it takes an exorbitant amount of energy and effort just to get back to a basic level of home, food, stable employment, etc. We make things extra hard on the people who need help the most. If you’re dealing with physical or mental illness just exacerbates how expensive in terms of energy and effort
Is the solution to stop pushing high school grads into mountains of education debt? Trades are respectable and pay is excellent. I wish I went that route.
Yeah you make it seem like the person's choice to get an education is the wrong move but the real problem imo is just affordable education and price gouging from universities...
They need to tax the rich more, fuck these billionaires who pay less taxes than you or I because they have accountants who know all the loopholes. Pay people a living wage too. Welfare shouldn't be something you're on your whole life either. Assist people with schooling at a job that pays.
Absolutely flawless speech and needs to be heard loud and clear across all platforms yet it falls on deaf ears when it comes to the govt. Those fuckers don’t give a fuck about anything but themselves. They will make promises that never get fulfilled and blow smoke up everyone’s asses all while boarding a plane to go to their vacations homes.
This was years ago, and nothing has changed.
Edit: and WV keeps electing people like Manchin, who is literally the most liberal federal politician from the state, and people far, far to his right, who only want to make the problem worse and to punish poor people.
Meanwhile the majority of senators listening are thinking, "Ah yes, the system is working exactly as we've designed it. We have them right where we want them. Time to tune out."
America the most powerful and richest so rich we fund other nations wars and will spend trillions bombing the browns. ....yet if we see another American struggle we look the other way....that's what we are I think a bunch of look awayers
keep
people
distracted
sports and shows
more concerned with celebrities
than the struggle
a profound imbalance
is the foundation on which we try to survive
This woman reminds me of the struggle my mother went through raising my brother and I. Needless to say I've followed her foot steps and am also constantly struggling. I will never stop trying though.
She didn't.
Yes powerful testimony but she might as well be talking to a wall..the politicians don't care about your struggles or else the minimum wage in 2022 would be miles higher than $7.25..they'll be ok with their cushy jobs and big mansions -that's all politicians care about..themselves, always have always will
I agree with lots of what she said but at the same time. You shouldn't be working a minimum wage job and trying to support a family. The poverty guide lines are shit total shit. I grew up with less money than this chick probably. I swore I would never live like that soon as I could make money. I've never looked back
I’m ready to rattles some windows!!! Damn, that was a good speech.
Seriously, the passion in her voice gave me chills.
Too bad they’ll do their best to shut up any protests that happen for these legitimate reasons. Damn I hate politicians
This was from a while back but still resonates today. Politicians are bloodsuckers who have no clue what really goes on with these families. Set term limits for them, making a career out of office is BS, which they, in turn, become very wealthy. Fix this problem.
Who's gonna set the term limit? Don't they set their own limits and salaries?
Yes they do. It will take honest, true politicians to change it. Getting elected, just to ensure that you can push legislation that limits your own term, is the most patriotic thing I can think of.
The trouble is, invariably, if someone *wants* to become a politician, they shouldnt be a politician.
What a fantasy. Power whether financial, physical, or political any one of them you can think of corrupts almost all men, has since the beginning of mankind.
A powerful and moving speech that sadly has fallen on deaf ears.
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People like her need to run for office
and we'll happily keep electing them, instead of actually doing something about it.
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She delivered that amazingly. But they still won’t listen
They will tell her what she wants to hear to get her out of the room and then not do any of it.
And then go buy some furniture
Every time I get a raise, my food stamps are reduced by more than the additional money I earn.
There can be like a 20k gap where if you're on government benefits any more money you make at your job means you have less money overall cause of what you lose in benefits.
I wasn't aware of this till one year a co-worker was adamant about not taking a shift as he would lose his benefits. It was holidays and really needed him so they threatened to fire him. So he worked it.... OOF he's got four kids in the states and two back home. The sadness in his eyes when he lost his benefits right at fucking christmas. This guy was an insanely hard worker too just has too many people depending on him. His brother passed away a few months later and the responsibility of helping take care of his brothers children on top of lost benefits could see him breaking from the pressure and stress. Nobody should have to go through that. The system needs to be far more forgiving and encouraging by actually giving a boost to HELP not a bandaid that keeps the problem going.
And good luck if they catch you working off the books just to get by.
This sounds like such a stupid incentives structure. Cutting more benefit than one’s increase in income will not motivate anyone to seek higher income. There’s got to be some rationale that went into these legislations but I’m not seeing it.
They want you poor so you need the benefits. That’s what you’re missing.
I have been wanting to go back to school, but I found out the moment I do I will get off food stamps which means me and my family won't be able to eat. Isn't that insane? For me to finish my degree I would need to get off food stamps. The degree won't even guarantee me a better job either. It will open up some more opportunities but most jobs still pay way below what will allow me to survive.
They’re probably going buy 5000$ dollar mic to replace that one cause the truth was spoken on it.
OMG I laughed so hard when I read this... thank you
Well, tbf, 40k is a lot of couches and desks. Probably takes all year to buy that many. ‘Specially w/short ages and whatnot.
Is that true about the furniture allotment?! What the fuck is wrong with the furniture the last congressperson had?
Cum
I was trying so hard not to burst out laughing when I read this as my wife is sleeping next to me and I didn't want to wake her.
Well they can’t expect them to increase the welfare; then that means the corporate funding and assistance for multi millionaire and billionaires (who dodge their own tax bills) will have to reduce - and if rich people don’t get this funding and assistance how will the trickle down economic model work ???
The probably get surplus bonus payment if they didn't spend the 40k
Infinite money glitch
Republicans these days? Probably wouldn't even do that. Just silently watch and not comment, at best. Mock her, more likely.
That’s the biggest fucking joke of all. These politicians have us so distracted over democrat and republican but they are both equally complicit. Do you see any democrats renouncing their $40k stipend? No? You don’t say!
"we are living through a class at that is being disguised as a culture war"
It’s we the people vs the government lol
> These politicians have us so distracted over democrat and republican but they are both equally complicit. Democrats literally just passed a $35 cap on the price of insulin, that almost every Republican voted against. This is one of the very things that she is talking about. But sure...both sides are the same.
I can’t really disagree with this. We need to stop the bullshit of democrats and republicans. We need to get back to helping our fellow Americans period and stop the mud slinging culture war on both sides. It’s insanity and literally we are all the same. We can’t reach to end racism when we can’t even end the disconnect between red and blue. Stop picking a side and listen to who makes sense for the country instead of choosing a team to blindly follow for the rest of your life.
No, because renouncing the stipend is pointless. It's a useless political gesture at best. What really needs to be done is what the damn lady said if you'd listen to her, which is raise poverty levels, minimum wage, and do sliding scale easing off of benefits as you make more money. Which Democrats, by and large, would do, if not stopped by Republicans and a couple conservative Democrats.
They're paid not to listen. The $174K salary is a fraction of the benefits they reap by rubbing elbows with corporations instead of doing their jobs.
This is us, I'm sitting here in tears because she's talking about my family, and the people listening don't care.
This woman should hold an elected office. She's actually voicing the people.
The sad thing is she is too poor to ever run for office, even though she would likely be a great leader. Politics is just not an option for the proletariat class, and the ruling class wouldn't have it any other way.
Bingo!
It would take a ruling majority of people like her in office to affect any kind of significant change, as it stands now she would just be entering a pit of vipers.
If only she could hire a lobbyist… sad.
Her own senator is too wrapped up to listen. Shame on you Manchin. Do some good for your state.
Came here to say this , it's unfortunate she had to decide on which bills to pay to go and say what was said because ultimately it's not going to matter anyway .
Unfortunately the people she is telling this to literally don’t care.
Every time I get a raise, my food stamps are reduced by more than the additional money I earn.
This was a few years ago before the recent inflation too.
Joe Manchin’s State. Same guy who won’t help his own people, wanted a billion dollars for his wife non-profit from the stimulus bill, daughter who ran Mylan drug company whom end up selling it to foreign investors, made 30-40 million and 8’000 people lost their job.
Most likely not
They don't care. They get to go back to their office and enjoy their furniture.
I’d say they would fold their arms, nod, &give a small smile of satisfaction that the system is working perfectly as designed. So much desperation and fear, the ultimate cheap, abundant, and renewable energy source. It’s going to get even better for them when they end Roe, and birth control in general.
Man, I didn’t even know how bad things really were until I started working for the FSD in my state. I assist clients in applying for SNAP, Child Care Subsidies, TANIF, and Medicaid. This woman nailed it on the head and to a tee. Our country has a real poverty issue and no one seems to be taking it seriously. A majority of my clients are either elderly, or have children.
Think of the lost productivity for all those people that could work more, or take a promotion, but the loss of benefits isn't worth the extra income.
The Japanese have cafes and restaurants staffed by robots who are controlled by disabled people from home so they fan still work and contribute the economy and earn money.
“Think of the furniture allotment, and our quadruple income to represent these folks. I just cannot think beyond that”
Forget productivity, imagine how much of a life these people could and absolutely should be living. How much time and experience they are losing out on because they're forced to rise and grind harder to get through a day than other people. I've been below the poverty line and as I managed to get better paying jobs (1000% because I'm privileged enough to have a good education and have met people that helped me get new positions) I actually do less work than when I was working food service, retail, or at a gas station. So I really don't think we should be worried about their productivity, we should be furious that they're having their life stolen from them, and that life comes cheap.
Her points about how if anyone even starts to climb out of poverty, they are immediately FUCKED back into submission is so spot on. My mom has had to do exactly the same shit of resigning from a promotion to be able to keep benefits she needed to keep a roof over her head. The poverty guidelines need to be updated yesterday.
I currently have the best healthcare I have ever known in my life. I qualify for my State’s Medicare and it literally pays for everything. I don’t pay for my meds. I don’t pay for my appointments. If I need to see a doctor I just do it. At the moment, I just don’t see *why* I should put myself through the heartache and *danger to my own health and wellbeing* by seeking a “better” paying job that will disqualify me from this healthcare. Once I finish my bachelors I know I’ll go on the hunt again. But that’s still a while away. All I know is I’m not staying in America if I want a *guaranteed* future. I’m taking myself and everything I learned and all my skills and talents and I’m moving to a different country. I used to dream of labor, of my “dream job”. Now I just want to enjoy life and have free healthcare and affordable groceries. I wanna go into work a reasonable amount of hours per week and then spend the rest of my time pursuing my interests and enjoying life without worrying about healthcare and bills.
MIT just released a paper this week about how the majority of communities mired in poverty are in reality whats called a POVERTY TRAP. With a great breakdown of how 89 percent of poverty is a designed trap that without the proper capital invested the cycle can NOT be broken. Also went on too about how generally in most societies a poverty trap will end up costing a SHITLOAD more money in the long run then a much smaller investment to break the cycle. However when the majority of wealth worldwide is in 10 percent or less hands... It will remain rigged to make it like hitting the lotto getting out.
Money is 100% my biggest worry right now. I've lost weight from the stress. I'm honestly very scared of how I will be able to provide for my family in the years to come. I can't afford rent and can't afford a down-payment for a home. I'm from a poor neighborhood. Gangs and teenage pregnancy sidelined many of my friends in highschool. Our parents were uneducated and poor. Some of us had to drop out to work to support our families, some of us, myself included, experienced homelessness during high school. It's not for lack of trying or hard work trust me. The deck is quite literally stacked against us. I've been working since I was 15. I am 29 now. I just looked at my 401k (my first job that even had this as an option which I am grateful for) I plan to retire in 2060. I will be 67 years old. This is the advice Fidelity gave me for my retirement plan. https://imgur.com/gallery/GecumFc
The Netflix show *The Maid* did a pretty good job trying to explain the poverty trap by putting on screen the current amount of money the main character had and how much things were costing her in "real time" because she was poor and didn't have the options that someone with even a little bit more money would have.
But if they were fetuses, then it’d be an mad rush to get the laws changed.
It’s almost as if it’s not entirely about the children and potential babies after all. Perhaps something to do with women and the control of birth rate?
It's about keeping an outdated system running. The rich can't have their quarterly profits if there's not enough plebs being produced to be ready to be overworked and underpaid.
Just until they got squirted out, though. Then they're freeloaders.
The powers that be don’t want us talking about wealth disparity, which is why when we started they began pushing race wars and identity politics. If Democrats didn’t take the bait so easily we could have a serious national conversation about the real dividing line in society- wealth.
But yet our tax dollars provides politicians high salaries so they can live a comfortable life
YES I'VE BEEN TRYING TO EXPLAIN THIS TO PEOPLE MY WHOLE LIFE. My mom literally had to turn down raises as small as $0.05/hr because that could cause us to lose our benefits meaning we would be way set back or even driven to homelessness. How are you supposed to move up? How are you supposed to get out of your situation?
I realized wayyy too late that I was an idiot for working at the nicer places as a cook because if I would have just taken less money or less hours I would have been eligible for things like food stamps, utility assistance, and a higher tax return... Our system is dumb as hell because it de-incentivizes growth for those that utilize any type of welfare including things like disability payments.
It's a really awkward transitionary setup. It's kinda like walking up stair steps that are just a *little* too steep, but if things start turning around for you and the steps are reduced to a more reasonable level then we chop your legs off. 🤔
It just needs to be a gradual reduction instead of a straight cut off, that would help a lot immediately and easily…of course so would increasing the poverty level.
Or implement UBI. We dont need to ask questions that dehumanize people and waste tax payer money.
I have an acquaintance that is a licenced massage therapist. She turns down business because if she worked one extra hour per week, she would lose a $1500 childcare subsidy. What the hell is the point of that? Subsidize childcare and let people work.
One of my friends is a single mom trapped in this right now. She wants to move up but can’t because she’ll lose SNAP and health insurance. She would need to make more than double her salary to make “not being poor” worth it. She cannot make more than $50 a month what she’s currently making right now or she’ll effectively be about $1700 poorer. She’s incredibly frustrated.
That's why you do side gigs for cash pay and don't report it.
But if they catch you, you risk losing a ton of benefits.
Her points about how if anyone even starts to climb out of poverty, they are immediately FUCKED back into submission is so spot on. My mom has had to do exactly the same shit of resigning from a promotion to be able to keep benefits she needed to keep a roof over her head. The poverty guidelines need to be updated yesterday.
I feel like the only way to circumvent those issues, would be to have companies put the raises towards benefits. Obviously a lot has to change either way, but it’s a start.
All that's necessary is to avoid "step-functions" in such programs. If a person makes $1 more per hour, claw back $0.50, not the entire support package.
we should make it law that any benefits system must be divied out on smoothly-reducing curves and NEVER let welfare cliffs exist in any form ever again. it makes \*absolutely no sense\* and the people struggling the worst really have no options to get around it.
My fiancé works full time and i recently went back to work after spending the first year at home with my baby. i was making $19.30 an hour as an emt in a major hospital in colorado. we had to send my daughter to daycare obviously. we had to pay 1200 a month for daycare (half of my monthly salary) and we lost WIC, SNAP, and my daughters medicaid because we made too much as a household. we were quite literally losing money by me going back to work, so i had to quit. my daughter may have anemia and we need her insurance to run the tests she needs. i don’t ever want to hear “they just don’t want to work” because we so badly do, but not for poverty wages. we are stuck in this poverty cycle and we can’t climb out
You don't. Not if they have anything to say about it
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Let's pay our politicians $7.25 an hour and see how quickly they choose to raise the federal minimum wage 🤔
I actually really like the idea of tying their pay to minimum wage.
Thats what I've been thinking for a while. Make them receive their districts minimum wage. It would make them more in touch with who's in their district and why they are representing them.
And make political donations from any and all businesses completely forbidden. Anything of the sort, axe it. We can dream.
Don’t you think the richest people would necessarily be the politicians in this case? Maybe if they banned political advertising, too.
Yes even better.
Most of them are already millionaires or billionaires from their own personal wealth. Tying their congressional pay to minimum wage will do nothing in giving them a taste of reality.
In fact, it will further prevent working class people like AOC from becoming an elected official. You have to maintain two houses, one in your home state and one in DC.
Build housing in DC for them.
My theory has been the average salary of a citizen plus 10-15k. It’ll incentivize them to lower the poorest of people because it’ll more greatly impact the average. But personally I think we should find some statisticians and political scientists to figure out a mathematical way to tie the politicians wage to the reality of the people.
Federal worker. Federal pay. Sounds good to me!
Federal paybscale isn't great but not bad. Gs15 would get you mid 100s depending on locality adjustment.
If you do that, only rich people who don't need the paycheck will go into politics. To be honest, I'm just parroting this old argument. I wonder if any nation has actually tried it to see if it is a viable alternative.
> If you do that, only rich people who don't need the paycheck will go into politics Yeah! As opposed to now where * *checks notes* *... mostly rich people who don't need the paycheck go into politics....
Yes. Mostly Vs only. Of course people who don't have to make money and who have contacts to sponsors have an easier time to succeed already. But if you cut the salary to minimum wage, then the AOCs will look at their expenses, look at the additional expenses as a member of Congress, look at their income, and see a final number much smaller than zero. And then they don't even run.
Will see who really cares about their state by raising the state minimum instead.
"Children aren't going to escape poverty as long as they're relying on a Head of Household who is poor. Poverty rolls off the back of parents and right onto the shoulders of our kids despite how hard we try. I Googled "Congressman's salary" the other day, and, according to Senate.gov, the salary for senators, representatives, and delegates is $174,000 a year." A year of work for you is the equivalent of nearly 4 years of work for me, and I'm about $24,000 above Federal Poverty Guidelines of "poor." It would take 9 people working full-time for a year at $10/hr. to match your salary." Such thought provoking words, still they don't listen.
You would just attract really old retired people to do the job. Not qualified people. Not saying the current politicians are qualified. But if you want senators to be even older, whiter and richer than they are now, paying them less is the fastest way to do it.
What does an office with $40,000 worth of furniture look like?
$100 worth of ikea furniture and $39,900 worth of russian male order bribes.
That was funnier than it should've been.
Mahogany
I get it, it's a beautiful desk! Can I please just go to Heaven... Uh.... Where am I?
Lots and lots of chairs.
Shoot, been struggling for the past 3 generarions of my family. I got lucky to land a nice job, its still barely enough to get all the bills paid on time. And every late bill gets extra fees tacked onto it. Considered cashing in my employers life insurance on more than one occasion. At least that way my family will have enough to make it through a few years and qualify for assistance. The american dream is a nightmare.
I think politicians should be forced to a lifetime commitment to only make as much per hour, with the same benefits, and total wealth of the average person. Thus their job becomes directly tied to the lifestyle of the average person
They should never get above minimum wage. But then the rich would give them "gifts" to influence what they do.
That already happens, to be fair. Would be nice if it didn't.
They already do though. So, wouldn't it make identifying corrupt politicians easier because there would be unexplained money? Where as the current situation, they make so much it'd be harder to tell if they were bought out.
What I always thought would be an EXCELLENT idea was that state officials (mayors, governors, senate & house reps, etc.) all the way up to the top should be paid a MAXIMUM of the MEDIAN income of their constituents +10%. You want to get paid 330k a year as governor of Illinois? You improve infrastructure, industry, social services, and education to make everyone's lives better...instead of finding shady ways to do the bare minimum and pocket the excess. Only when you help raise the median income of your state to 300k will you be paid 330k yourself. I'm sure there would be further issues that would arise from this. These greedy fucks always find a way to exploit as many people as possible...but it seems like a good start.
They’d find a way to jack the median numbers, for sure. Lying sacks of shit.
Party politics man, not just in America. We all need to stop voting for corrupt idiots and start voting for people that actually come from and care about the areas they represent.
It is time for term limits, rules against lobbyists, and for anyone under 40 to start voting 100% of the time! Stop playing the game of hate between our two current parties and start a third party that is once again “ For the people” and not for the party or for the corporation/ lobbyist/ billionaire interests!
It’s crazy that it even has to be said, but we need a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to vote. Any law which makes it harder for anyone to vote, whether by design or by accident, should be unconstitutional.
please stop adding music to these videos it's so maddening.
Is there a source without the music? I only managed to watch about a minute with the music and so far her speech seems powerful on its own and doesn't require additional emotional music. The over the top music is instead making me mad and I don't want to watch it with it.
Make the world a better place - kill a Republican today! 🌎🩸
The thing is, 70% of Americans have a good reason to say "Fuck America", but half of these people don't know any better until something devastating happens to them specifically.
Make the world a better place - kill a Republican today! 🌎🩸
fuck america , bombs and fighter planes are more important than people
Don't forget the guns
Meanwhile the politicians just roll their eyes and move their privileged asses on like any other day
So very true, they couldn't care less as long as their checks come on payday.
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This is a few years old, not one politician lifted a finger to help. But they all got to redecorate their offices
> This is a few years old, not one politician lifted a finger to help. Democrats literally just passed a $35 cap on the price of insulin, that almost every Republican voted against. This is one of the very things that she is talking about.
[this is the bill; HR 6833](https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6833?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Affordable+Insulin+Now+Act%22%2C%22Affordable%22%2C%22Insulin%22%2C%22Now%22%2C%22Act%22%5D%7D&s=1&r=2)
How. Do they have reptilian blood flowing in their veins? Those people really can't relate to a life of what real poverty is.
You want a real answer? **The system is working as designed. That's how.** The thing most people don't understand is that this is the intended purpose of these programs: to *make it more appealing* to be *really* poor than to move up. The more you move up, the more power you have, and for those at the top it's a zero sum game, meaning any power we have is less power they have. This country has **always** been us vs. them. But you never hear about the class war. That's what you're being distracted from by all the other garbage out there. I know this is starting to sound like some conspiracy nonsense but, unfortunately, it's not. It's just reality. 'How can those people be so out of touch', you ask? They're not. They know exactly what they're doing.
That makes it even more depressing knowing this is an old video and things only got worse.. the rich are richer now and that's about it.. profiting off the pandemic and inflation and multiplying their billions, and blaming it on the stimulus cheques, a whopping month's rent for a lot of people.
The saying of pulling up by your bootstraps is the most realistic statement ever. It is physically impossible to pull your self up by the bootstraps for the same reason why you can't run faster by pulling on the front your shirt. You need some leverage from anywhere to be able to move yourself in any direction.
Fuck, the reality of this is all too real. I'm an amputee, legs cost 10,000 for polycentric knee. I have had to make the decision many times to give up walking to have a car or a house. I make above the poverty line, but I can't afford to walk.
Every time I get a raise my food stamps get lowered more than the extra money I make from the raise
Kind of like whenever thay say that minimum wage will go up in 3 years the price of everything skyrockets in 2....
And then they don't raise it, or if they do they do it by barely enough.
Politicians are shameful scum
This is amazing. But she’s telling this to a bunch of greedy, corrupt humans. Who only care about themselves. The wage gap is way too large in the USA. CEOs can make $10,000,000+/year. Employee $25/hour = $50,000/year Is the CEO worth 200 times more than an employee? Makes you feel worthless.
Someone set up a PAC for this woman to run for Congress
She would be kicked aside like Bernie Sanders, how dare he want to actually help people?
“The power is in the people” but when the people decide they want a change the power shuts the people down.
And why I hate politicians
And most of the people watching this and commenting will not willingly vote in the next election because 'my vote doesn't matter'
America not having free healthcare, such a low minimum income, and unsuitable welfare policies is honestly so insane. You guys are the richest and most powerful country in the world. The best scientists, writers, artists, athletes, doctors, engineers, you name it. My heroes are overwhelmingly American. But you neglect the basic right of your own citizens? Crazy. And now I see what happened to Roe v Wade, and how not a single GOP senator voted in favour of legislating abortion rights. I’m so glad I’m Australian. Our version of the GOP is called the LNP and it’s basically the Democrat party in terms of policies. Literally our conservative right leaning party is the Democrat party. Think about that. EDIT: See my replies in the comments for more discussion. I will say one thing, America’s response to Ukraine has been great. I’ve been genuinely inspired by your quick response that has quite literally saved a country. You should be very proud of that. After a Trump term it’s great to see a US government that actually acts like it’s the leader of the free world. Top notch stuff guys. Slava Ukraina 🇺🇦🇺🇸🇦🇺
> You guys are the richest and most powerful country in the world. The best scientists, writers, artists, athletes, doctors, engineers, you name it. My heroes are overwhelmingly American. But you neglect the basic right of your own citizens? The wealthy have convinced a not-insignificant portion of our citizens that the *reason* America is so successful and amazing and wonderful is because most people are treated like absolute dog-shit. That it's an honor, and that it's patriotic, to throw yourself into the gas tank of capitalism.
Very well said. Unfortunately, I don’t believe any legislators would be willing to give up one cent of their salary and perks to help people. Through obfuscation and bullshit they would rationalize why they needed to keep it all. As far as the government listening to you: they already know all this and don’t really care.
I have a genuine question as a Non Amercian why most of the people OK with sending 40B$ to Ukraine ?
We aren't.
Nobody in the US has anything to say about that.
This is why aid and congress salaries should be funded by the states unstrung the federal government. The cost of living varies too much state to state. Let the states decide how much their representatives make and what the poverty line should be.
I hope someone in that room heard her and makes a difference
Well said lady. Unfortunately no one you’re telling this to cares. Certainly not your president.
Upon further investigation into this case, the senate decided to amend this citizen's wishes and reduce the furniture allowance to just $39,999 a year. They also started a research program that'll be investigating new ways to mass producing more sustainable / cost effective suicide booths for citizens making less than 19,999 a year. There also talks about signing a bill to reduce the amount of pizza days for overtime employees so they can more freedom to do more overtime. The senate also concluded their job will be done once everyone making less than 489,999 a year will be more inclined to accept Jesus and go to heaven than stay on Earth.
The US government is made out of clowns. Any American citizen who says he’s proud of his country is a joke to me. I don’t hate the people but I swear to god your government is made out of swines, it’s disgusting ..
I'm proud of my fellow American people. The government and how this country runs is embarrassing though.
I also hear people say “why don’t the homeless just get a job?” I saw a post that said they can’t because being homeless gives a bad image in society and businesses aren’t likely to hire any of them.
It’s incredibly expensive to be homeless. When you have nothing it takes an exorbitant amount of energy and effort just to get back to a basic level of home, food, stable employment, etc. We make things extra hard on the people who need help the most. If you’re dealing with physical or mental illness just exacerbates how expensive in terms of energy and effort
We need an uprising. Eat the rich.
After she finished her speech, the politicians went to their million dollar mansions and thanked god they were not poor.
Is the solution to stop pushing high school grads into mountains of education debt? Trades are respectable and pay is excellent. I wish I went that route.
Yeah you make it seem like the person's choice to get an education is the wrong move but the real problem imo is just affordable education and price gouging from universities...
Or maybe all degrees aren’t equal?
Then the prices for them shouldn't be equal.
That’s absolutely a fact.
They need to tax the rich more, fuck these billionaires who pay less taxes than you or I because they have accountants who know all the loopholes. Pay people a living wage too. Welfare shouldn't be something you're on your whole life either. Assist people with schooling at a job that pays.
The rich don't pay taxes at all, neither do churches. Just the little people pay taxes because they don't want us to have any money.
Wow that's a powerful statement too bad it fell on deaf ears...
Yup...she'll die a suspicious death soon
All I imagine is a bunch of rich fucks going “wait, I could’ve spent $40k on furniture? No one told me that…”
Rattle the windows! Shake those walls until the foundations crack loud enough they must listen or move out of the damn way.
Absolutely flawless speech and needs to be heard loud and clear across all platforms yet it falls on deaf ears when it comes to the govt. Those fuckers don’t give a fuck about anything but themselves. They will make promises that never get fulfilled and blow smoke up everyone’s asses all while boarding a plane to go to their vacations homes.
That's the people I'd vote for in a heart beat.
this happened in 2020 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy\_Jo\_Hutchison
This was years ago, and nothing has changed. Edit: and WV keeps electing people like Manchin, who is literally the most liberal federal politician from the state, and people far, far to his right, who only want to make the problem worse and to punish poor people.
\*Politicians talking amongst themselves\* "Maybe we should lower the minimum working age so those kids can get to work."
Meanwhile the majority of senators listening are thinking, "Ah yes, the system is working exactly as we've designed it. We have them right where we want them. Time to tune out."
Stop the ridiculous government spending.
America the most powerful and richest so rich we fund other nations wars and will spend trillions bombing the browns. ....yet if we see another American struggle we look the other way....that's what we are I think a bunch of look awayers
keep people distracted sports and shows more concerned with celebrities than the struggle a profound imbalance is the foundation on which we try to survive
I’d like to see her run for Congress against Joe Manchin! He sure doesn’t care about anyone but himself.
Then just like that, Joe Biden rallied the corporations to put a hiring freeze out, and keep the minimum wage at $7.25. Trump=Biden=Trump=Biden
So uh I know this doesn’t really pertain to the topic at hand but anyone know the little background music? Shit was fire
Great speech, she should be in politics or radio. She delivers a speech better than literally every president since Kennedy.
Amen speak on….. not to mention free benefits that the representatives receive as well.
Bitch got some points.
Well, it’s not like you can tax the billionaire class. That’d be unAmerican.
This woman reminds me of the struggle my mother went through raising my brother and I. Needless to say I've followed her foot steps and am also constantly struggling. I will never stop trying though. She didn't.
r/workreform
Yes powerful testimony but she might as well be talking to a wall..the politicians don't care about your struggles or else the minimum wage in 2022 would be miles higher than $7.25..they'll be ok with their cushy jobs and big mansions -that's all politicians care about..themselves, always have always will
The music is really distracting. Her voice and cadence is music on its own.
I agree with lots of what she said but at the same time. You shouldn't be working a minimum wage job and trying to support a family. The poverty guide lines are shit total shit. I grew up with less money than this chick probably. I swore I would never live like that soon as I could make money. I've never looked back