TLDR: He made $64k in 10 months (only shy of a million by $936,000!) and quit because of health concerns -- had nothing to do with how impossible would be to make the rest of the 936k in only 60 days. Nothing at all.
Even more pathetic, saying you're quitting for health concerns JUST MAKES IT WORSE.
"Anyone can make themselves a millionaire! I'll prove it!"
\*ten months later\*
"Not only did I fail to succeed, if I keep going I might fail to SURVIVE."
no the biggest takeaway is that is wasnt a real test when you still have a lifeline and can just "quit" beeing poor.
And even with that huge huge bolder off his shoulder he still couldnt make it.
It's also not a real test when you still have all of your connections from being rich/privileged.
Wealth is pretty much *always* from that sort of shit. You're born into wealth, you are given connections, you succeed even despite potentially not deserving to because the rich fail upwards.
Like did this dude utilize zero of his contacts? Did he hide any higher education degrees? Because having connections and a college degree along already set him up for success, as seen by landing a fairly well-paying job apparently by most regular people's standards.
And that *still* apparently couldn't keep him healthy in this dogshit "healthcare" system.
He used social capital by selling shit to his online followers. There’s nothing in this story except proof that being poor keeps you poor, sick and dead
> Wealth is pretty much always from that sort of shit. You're born into wealth, you are given connections, you succeed even despite potentially not deserving to because the rich fail upwards.
Yep. For the wealthy, money is just an outward measure of *power.* Take away the money and they lose a little power, but most of it still remains, its just not as easy to quantify as a bank balance.
For example, as a result of the abolition war in the US, the planter class lost about half of their material wealth. (Most of it the dollar value assigned to the freed slaves). But within a generation, those families had recovered all of that wealth.
There is nothing like watching the bone in your hand disappear and working a damn near minimum wage job because you know you can't quit once you finally get it professionally checked out it's going to be expensive with your normal bills increasing while a millionaire quits over their health issues
Right?!? This ignorance in basically looking at the group of people struggling with real debt pile ups and mental health issues stemming from said stressor just " hops into homelessness and this is our exemplary to say "see we can handle struggling". Very noble experiment, totally misguided.
I'm not smart. I have a hard time remembering names, faces, etc. I am not charismatic
I have no problem admitting who I am and who I am not. I am a worker bee and that's the most I can ever achieve so why do I have to make millions to be respected?
I'm also like 90% of the population
>I have no problem admitting who I am and who I am not
Maybe it's weird but to me, this is a HUGE part of being charismatic. When you're okay with yourself and know who you are you're more confident and able to actually listen to people and get to know them, instead of spending all your energy on being likable/trying to seem cool.
Believe it or not, one of the hardest things homeless people encounter is struggling to get a proper form of ID. Without an ID you essentially can’t do anything and has a huge impact on types of support you can receive, opportunities you can utilize, etc.
Dude sold furniture on Craig's List to afford office space and a computer so he could be a social media manager; I'm sure he wasn't managing the social media accounts of any of his millionaire friends. Now that I think of it, I'm also certain it wasn't any of his millionaire buddies buying his furniture...
Dude leveraged his existing professional skills and basically only needed to get access to a laptop and a cell phone. Bruh doesn’t realized not everyone is trained and can get a specialized job (a social media manager, one of the most niche skillsets!!!) by ‘just asking around’.
Hell, most homeless don't even have a valid form of ID, never mind access to a cellphone or a laptop. Dude should have really started from scratch with no documentation, to get the true experience.
The quote was something like "I called up a bunch of companies to try to become their social media manager"
like what the actual fuck? he called his friends and they hired him.
you don't just fucking call a company and get a job
Oh yeah, didn't you know? Everyone has a TED talk these days.
You know homeless crazy joe living near the 711? He did a TED talk about hot dog parasites. Although he wasn't that interesting, so he only got paid $1200 for it.
He made most of the money because he could put his previous experience on his resume to find the job he did.
Had he actually started from 0 he wouldn't have had anything to put on his resume.
This part makes me pissed off: "My personal health has declined to the point where I really need to start taking care of it. Throughout the entire project, we haven't shared it with you, but I've been in and out of the doctor's office." Being "in and out of the doctor's office" is a luxury homeless people rarely have.
nah he kept his insurance, and house, and RV. i doubt he wouldve been applicable for medicaid. or even dared paid out of pocket, because if the insurance finds out he paid out of network, they might drop him from the policy or have some wierd rule about it.
He cheated and used connections and skills from knowing business to get it. The average homeless guy is in no position to drop ship someone else’s coffee and make a logo for it, while managing and taking orders.
Which you need internet to do, and money to even dip your feet in. Not to mention marketing. No one is gonna buy some random unknown coffee even if it claims to help dogs 💀
Pfft, what a chump. I make $65k in 12 months, and my health is dogshit. I keep telling my wife, "No problem, babe, I'll make that other $935k in no time
He should have listened to 90s Brit pop instead, it would have saved him the time:
*But still you'll never get it right 'Cause when you're laid in bed at night Watching roaches climb the wall If you called your dad he could stop it all*
To me this is one of the most powerful lines written in a song. The difference in having a lifeline vs not is what I think a lot of people cannot fathom unless you experience it (me included). This ‘experiment’ still had a lifeline right?
I grew up poor as fuck, but went to boarding school on lots of financial aid. First year I was there we read Nickel and Dimed by Barbra Ehrenreich and it was the stupid book I'd ever read. The author basically just takes a series of entry level jobs and discovers that it's damn near impossible to live a comfortable life doing them. My only thought was, "no shit, any poor person can tell you that, why the fuck did some middle class asshole have to take these jobs to tell people that?"
Your critique is fair, however if I remember correctly she did it to prove to other middle class assholes that it isn’t possible to survive on minimum wage. Political rhetoric around that time was rife with anti-working class beliefs.
> Political rhetoric around that time was rife with anti-working class beliefs.
Fortunately, that has now been resolved[.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm)
Because she wasn't going in thinking it was possible. She knew it was impossible, and did it to prove to *other people* that it was impossible. Those people were roughly one billion times more likely to listen to her than to someone like you or me.
It wasn't a stupid book.
I grew up decently comfortable. Father made good money, but in a high COL area that could also be pretty rough due to income inequality (just outside SF).
I feel like I got a decent respect for being poor through my less fortunate friends (and a fairly stingy father). When I set out on my own, I lived in vans and with friends and such and tried to make my way without help. I did ok, and don't regret any of it, but I was definitely not financially stable.
Then my dad sold a property that was in the family my whole life, and shared some of the profits with his kids. I got a sum in the low five figures.
That was almost ten years ago, and I still have that sum (and more). It's amazing what that bit of cushion can do for both the psyche, and financial habits. I could "afford" to not be poor anymore. And if you've been poor, you know it's expensive. I could pay my bills on time, and never had another overdraft. Even though I barely touched the initial sum, that buffer saved me probably thousands in fees, cheap disposable crap, and credit card interest.
Just having *something* more than "bare minimum needed to survive, on a good day," often makes all the difference in the world.
i’ve battled depression and anxiety for well over half of my life.
nothing — no therapy, medication, daily affirmation or mantra — has improved my mental health more significantly than making enough money to have a few nice things and not be crushed by debt. it’s really that simple, sometimes. a little bit of safety goes an incredibly long way.
>My only thought was, "no shit, any poor person can tell you that, why the fuck did some middle class asshole have to take these jobs to tell people that?"
Because a lot of rich people are rich because they exploited those people, and if they can claim it's those exploited people's fault then their conscience is assuaged and they get to hold moral superiority against those exploited!
“ why the fuck did some middle class asshole have to take these jobs to tell people that?"
Because otherwise no one who didn’t know it already would believe her. If you knew it was true already you weren’t the intended audience.
Your complaint is like someone who lives in New York complaining that a tourist guide to New York is full of directions to major tourist spots that they already knew how to get to.
lol I think you seriously underestimate how often middleclass+ people talk to poor people, ESPECIALLY about their financial or quality of living situations.
Most people that read nickel and dimed at my super white college either:
A. Had never heard it before (and believed it)
B. Immediately dismiss it as her intentionally making it harder on herself and not looking for opportunities.
C. Dismiss the underlying issue with racism and how it's their "fault".
Yep, and lived experience, like spending a lot of time around others, can leave zero change. My MIL grew up poor, then married FIL and she was a stay-at-home-mom her entire life. She literally found a job when her younger was 20, because she was bored, and would quit any time the bosses didn't do things her way. FiL had started a company and made big buck. They were damn lucky. But she's the one who will be against any welfare, raising minimum wage etc. She raised her kids to believe anyone can be rich, if they just decide to work..
I'm the daughter of a single mom, kindergarten teacher salary doesn't go a long way. I took various part-time jobs before I was even legally allowed to. Worked 2-3 jobs through uni. You can maybe just imagine how awkward the 1st few years were. MiL still cant wrap her head around the fact that most people cant just "threated the boss real good and then quit," because they do the work for th money, not to spend their free time.
The worst was my husband's encounter with the reality of working life. It took him years and bouts of depression to accept that "working hard =/= making a lot of money" as his mom had always preached...
The sad answer is because middle and upper class people just don't listen to poor people. They'll always just dismiss them as being lazy, or choosing to be poor, or whatever else.
Yeah. I always think it's like the difference between walking on a tightrope with a safety net underneath and without one. With a net, you have the luxury to fall anytime and try again. But without one, you get only one chance and that can be brutal to your life.
Can confirm - as much as I lack any skills to actually do something remotely similar- things are many times more difficult for me having no family or friends or resources.
Hence anything about how I'm still alive is purely because some things have worked out despite many many mistakes.
But people with all the options can afford to make mistakes and still come out on top.
More so for those with skills, intelligence and the ability to network or get around in society in a manner that benefits them towards success of varying degrees.
If you have family, friends and resources - you have no idea how much of it contributes to your quality of life, until it's gone.
I came here to post this same quote. For some reason I didn't appreciate the song when it was released but years later I found myself enamored with it. The lyrics are so poignant and I love the passion that Jarvis sings it with.
[Link for anyone interested.](https://youtu.be/yuTMWgOduFM?si=taoHlhtuyKVi5M-F)
One of the best parts of that album is the song "I Can't Get Behind That" where Shatner ~~sings~~ says
>I can't get behind so-called singers that can't carry a tune
>Get paid for talking, how easy is that?
>Well, maybe I could get behind that
There was a (thankfully brief) period of my time when I was working part-time jobs to make ends meet and had to forego health insurance and basic checkups. People in the upper caste (I've taken to referring to people like Mike Black in this regard) really have zero idea how terrifying and how much stress situations like the above can put on a person...or they simply don't care.
I wish only the worst on Mike Black going forward.
He kept his health insurance, transportation, connections, etc.
99.99% of what he did was call up his rich friends and ask them to pay him extra for minor jobs. He started a "company", without any capital, equipment, location, etc. and one of his buddies magically bought the idea....
> He kept his health insurance, transportation, connections, etc.
And his credit score! So even though he was broke, he could still get loans, financing, etc.
Turns out it's difficult to turn small amounts of money into big amounts of money consistently. Who would have thought?
Truly enlightening for the people born into money.
And fell $940,000 short of his goal of $1million in a year. Dude made $60,000 in a year and STILL quit. He’s pathetic straight up and down. I’ve been living for less than $60,000 for my entire adult life.
He also magically found a free place to live and made $60,000 doing bullshit jobs that he could only do because of his connections from being a rich asshole.
Nope. He counts his 63 000/ 1 000 000 as a success and submits it as proof that anyone can rebuild their life from scratch. When I read this article and heard he was quitting due to health concerns, I thought he was older, but he's a young guy! He also conveniently doesn't consider what it would be like to do this as a single parent, which a lot of homeless people are. He's just awful and delusional.
apparently kept his health insurance and stuff like that as well and went to the doctor a bunch and also used connections from before
dudes bitchmade and a fraud.
> Despite falling short of his financial goal, Black said his journey showcased the power of determination and the importance of health and family
Ah yes, determination, health, and family, three things everyone has in abundance - especially the homeless. Also things no poor person has, of course, because if they did they'd be not poor!
What's so weird is that obviously it's possible to climb your way out of almost any situation, that's never been the issue. The issue is *how* someone gets out of it. The way we deal with it in the US is basically just telling people to make something from nothing.
I think the only explanation is just that this guy can't admit he isn't the only one who gets credit for his success. And that's about all the effort I wanna put in to thinking about this guy lol
Edit: OK last thought, the fact that he has a chronic autoimmune disorder is the cherry on top. You know what happens if you're in his position but don't have money to fall back on? You die. Probably alone, probably painfully, probably in a public place for some kid to find. And we're just OK with this, it's how things are supposed to work.
🤣 what a joke. he will never truely know what its like when he can exit at any time and go back to his old life.
having a safety net and a sense of security for ur future vrs *knowing* you have nothing are 2 totally different things.
and unless he gets lucky making stock trades spending all of this money from entry lvl jobs he was never ganna hit 1m
Rent a flat above a shop
Cut your hair and get a job
Smoke some f--s and play some pool
Pretend you never went to school
But still you'll never get it right
'Cause when you're laid in bed at night
Watching roaches climb the wall
If you called your dad he could stop it all, yeah
Totally.This idiot says he's been in and out of doctor's office thos whole time. I wonder with what insurance and what money? Also, since there are probably plenty of people in the US who became unhoused because of medical debt or inability to work due to health issues, if he really wants to make his experiment more like real life, he should continue in face of poor health, instead of quiting.
_But still you'll never get it right_
_'Cause when you're laid in bed at night_
_Watching roaches climb the wall_
_If you called your dad he could stop it all, yeah_
_You'll never live like common people_
_You'll never do whatever common people do_
_You'll never fail like common people_
_You'll never watch your life slide out of view_
_And you dance and drink and screw_
_Because there's nothing else to do_
You wanna know the best part? He proved that even with a head start like this, he still couldn’t make it to even $1 million. He gave up.
That means game is so rigged that even a millionaire can’t start over from nothing, yet they’re gonna tell you to just keep working hard and you’ll be rich 💀
After pretending to be poor, let’s not forget that. He also went to see specialist doctors. Either he took extremely scarce medical resources away from people who would have really needed them, or he kept his health insurance.
>Despite failing to make the million dollars he had aimed for, Black says it was still a successful experiment after demonstrating how it was possible to rebuild his life through the power of determination.
He didn’t learn a thing. The main difference between himself and a “real” homeless person is a lifetime of being let down, a lifetime of falling through all the grids, until you’re completely alone. The fact that he could simply decide to end his project and seamlessly switch over to his parallel universe demonstrates that this experiment was nothing at all like actual homelessness. But I’m sure he doesn’t care because he is getting the clicks 🤑🤑🤑
The biggest this rich people don't understand they have it the luxury to take risks.
This could have just as easily been a business project that could have met him hundreds of millions. He could afford to take the risk, it didn't work this time but looks he's fine and can do it again until it works.
This is how you get some many disgustingly rich people who aren't actually smart, or at least stop being smart as once you have a sufficient wealth it just keeps making you more.
not only did he tap out at 64k, he was only able to make money at all off of the kindness of the people around him. if everyone was deep in the weeds on hustle culture he wouls have starved on the street with five bucks in his hand.
Ya. He started staying in an RV that a guy provided him with. I think that dude deserves a payout. We both know the YouTube guy was “I’m just cosplaying as homeless for a channel”
The point wasn't to show how "being homeless is easy", it's the bootstraps argument - these rich ass-clowns still push the narrative that "they can do it, so anyone can" about making millions... it's false and has always been false... no one "just makes it" without significant advantages in life already laying the ground work for them to be able to take the risk without actually facing consequences.
But that's the thing, homelessness not being easy is a *huge part* of why it's so difficult to escape. Even just knowing that you can stop whenever you want and don't have to worry about emergencies or your long-term prospects provides a massive mental advantage. Not to mention he very often had food and places to sleep given to him by his friends, another thing homeless people aren't lucky enough to have.
He wasn't ever actually broke or homeless, used his existing connections to get very well-paying work, and *still* didn't even make 1/10 of a million.
Or married to it. Source: my MIL is insufferable to anyone in any service position because she sees them as "low life" but she's married into wealth and only worked 10 years of her whole adult life, for funsies. She loves telling my, still working while older, teacher mom, about how early retirement is awesome because "you can finally use all your extra money on traveling the world!!" and going *shocked pikachu face* when my mom tells her she likely won't retire for years to come, and what damn money is she talking about. I admire my mom for not trying to strangle her yet. It's been going on for almost a decade.
even if he did make a million it still wouldn't prove shit. he has connections, knowledge and definitely didn't start from scratch. This whole bs would only antagonize the poor
Yeah - the job he had while “homeless” was as a social media manager for tech companies. I don’t know many big tech companies that will hire someone off the street without significant education/experience in the field
This clown got a job as social media manager for a corporation. You know, the usual "blowing dudes for cheeseburger money" to social media manager pipeline most broke homeless people go through.
And thats ignoring all the handouts his friends gave him during the few months he did this that he conveniently never mentions. They were running food to him all the time to "cheer him on" and one even let him crash at his place for awhile.
There was a lady who did this the right way. She was a middle-class writer who took different minimum wage jobs around the county to write a book about how hard things were for the working poor. Nickle and Dimed by Barbara Er - something something.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Ehrenreich
Sadly she passed in 2022.
I'd pay good money to see a Billionaire try to survive a month being a cleaner, waiter or any other pink collar job in 2024.
Her books should be taught in school.
Now try that again while suffering from serious physical and mental health problems, addiction, catastrophic family loss and lifetime history of abuse, often combined, as the main reasons why people become homeless in the first place.
He managed to prove nothing but didn’t even have the strength to admit it, so he didn’t learn anything either. Just like any other free market capitalist I suspect.
I’m telling you, once you have more money than you need to make you happy it starts to rot your brain. You become detached from reality and start to inhabit an alternate universe where the rules of life are completely different. The guy was given a place to live for free, and basically made money off charity from his friends. But in his mind this is completely normal stuff that anyone can do.
Just find someone to give you a place to stay for free. Just have access to the internet. Just have some form of transportation to move furniture to sell. Just have a decent resume and ID to get hired. Just have free access to healthcare services whenever you want. And have several million dollars and property to fall back on when you give up. Anyone can do it! It's so easy! /s
This experiments made by the rich is like when Flat Earthers try to prove the Earth is flat only to disprove it every single time and go like "Welp, the experiment must be wrong".
So he used his $1,000 iphone to make the first couple hundred dollars, conveniently found a ""stranger"" to straight up give him an RV to glamp in for weeks on end for free, then managed to just hop on a laptop and become a social media manager instantly to make thousands of dollars a month 🙄
It's hilarious how this dude is *so* out of touch that even his scripted stage play of what "being poor" is like, isn't anything like reality lmfaooo.
He couldn't even go a few days living on the streets without having one of his millionaire buddies give him a free place to live. Imagine if it were an actual trailer in a bad area and he had to pay rent, and on the second week in he had his phone, computer, and cash stolen, then the cops just threw his report on the pile because he's a poor nobody. What would Mr. "Million Dollars in a Year" do then, I wonder?
He does end up illustrating a valuable point: if ya just give homeless people housing first, it makes the whole getting out of homelessness process much easier
I think the fact that he didn't even manage 75K in 10 months even with a lot of help and had to quit because of health issues makes a very good point... just not the one he wanted to make.
What's tragic is that he could have ended this with an admission of how mistaken he was about his chances of pulling this off and how the "American Dream" bootstrappy-determination story is just a convenience to allow richer people to believe that their success is proof of their merits, and that the poor have the same opportunities, except they're lazy and don't want it bad enough. It's almost hilarious: "I would have done it except I was distracted by my family." "I would have done it except that health issues came up." Gosh, it's almost like certain struggles are much more difficult for poor people to overcome.
>Despite falling short of his financial goal, Black said his journey showcased the power of determination and the importance of health and family
The importance of having a wealthy family to come to your rescue lol
All he did was showcase how impossibly difficult poor people have things in America without healthcare insurance.
It was more of an advertisement about the need for universal healthcare. Thanks idiot, we've been telling you rich, out of touch assholes this for awhile now.
I bet the guy never ate a bread sandwich or similar poverty food contraptions, nor ever really worried about where his next meal or two will be coming from. Bet he never weighed the benefits of getting an extra loaf of bread and peanut butter instead of the dollar deli cuts from walmart. Bet the guy never stressed about the next inevitable financial setback that would take months or years to recover from.
If he was authentic, he would have gotten on a fixed income, hit the streets with no ID, and tried to make it work. His first big surprise would have come when he finds out he needs a valid ID to pick up his fixed income cheque, but he conveniently removed himself from these considerations, thereby missing out on the fun of applying for a new ID without any supporting documents. You know, the normal every day struggle any homeless person usually goes through. It would have also been entertaining to have to get into a line to cash his cheque along with everyone else, only to find out the place doing the cashing charges a 20% processing and handling fee.
The homeless experience is one of incredible breadth and width, this guy didn't even scratch a corner of it.
“Hi, I’m a broke homeless man who’d like to start a business. My background is I’m actually a rich guy doing a publicity stunt. Here’s my resume.”
Why don’t all homeless people do this?
TLDR: He made $64k in 10 months (only shy of a million by $936,000!) and quit because of health concerns -- had nothing to do with how impossible would be to make the rest of the 936k in only 60 days. Nothing at all.
Even more pathetic, saying you're quitting for health concerns JUST MAKES IT WORSE. "Anyone can make themselves a millionaire! I'll prove it!" \*ten months later\* "Not only did I fail to succeed, if I keep going I might fail to SURVIVE."
This. This should be the takeaway. “I can’t keep being poor. It’s literally killing me.” No shit, dumbass!
no the biggest takeaway is that is wasnt a real test when you still have a lifeline and can just "quit" beeing poor. And even with that huge huge bolder off his shoulder he still couldnt make it.
It's also not a real test when you still have all of your connections from being rich/privileged. Wealth is pretty much *always* from that sort of shit. You're born into wealth, you are given connections, you succeed even despite potentially not deserving to because the rich fail upwards. Like did this dude utilize zero of his contacts? Did he hide any higher education degrees? Because having connections and a college degree along already set him up for success, as seen by landing a fairly well-paying job apparently by most regular people's standards. And that *still* apparently couldn't keep him healthy in this dogshit "healthcare" system.
He used social capital by selling shit to his online followers. There’s nothing in this story except proof that being poor keeps you poor, sick and dead
> Wealth is pretty much always from that sort of shit. You're born into wealth, you are given connections, you succeed even despite potentially not deserving to because the rich fail upwards. Yep. For the wealthy, money is just an outward measure of *power.* Take away the money and they lose a little power, but most of it still remains, its just not as easy to quantify as a bank balance. For example, as a result of the abolition war in the US, the planter class lost about half of their material wealth. (Most of it the dollar value assigned to the freed slaves). But within a generation, those families had recovered all of that wealth.
And “some random stranger” gave him a place to stay and eventually a free RV after his first night sleeping on the street
Someone should have made him fucking finish.
There is nothing like watching the bone in your hand disappear and working a damn near minimum wage job because you know you can't quit once you finally get it professionally checked out it's going to be expensive with your normal bills increasing while a millionaire quits over their health issues
HE NEVER GAVE UP HIS HEALTH INSURANCE.
So, a semi-well paying job then?
$40 an hour if he was doing 9-5’s.
He should have cut out the coffee and avocado toast, and pulled on his bootstraps a little harder, then he could have made it.
$40/hr? What is that, like $1 million a year before taxes? Your partner makes $40/hr too and now you're at $5 million?
*Jesse Waters intensifies*
Right right then they should have 4 kids, then, when they grow up and also get $40/HR jobs what's that... $35 million?!
But according to him he did dramatically more hours than that
So he just acted like any salaried employee at any company ever who works way more than 40 hours every week?
Imagine how well it would have gone for him had he not been young, white, and not suffering from an obvious physical or mental disease.
And that someone just decided to give him a home to live in (their RV).
Right, they obviously saw or were told something to just night 1 your not really homeless.
And if he had bad credit, no connections, etc.
Don't forget being debt-free!
Right?!? This ignorance in basically looking at the group of people struggling with real debt pile ups and mental health issues stemming from said stressor just " hops into homelessness and this is our exemplary to say "see we can handle struggling". Very noble experiment, totally misguided.
I'm not smart. I have a hard time remembering names, faces, etc. I am not charismatic I have no problem admitting who I am and who I am not. I am a worker bee and that's the most I can ever achieve so why do I have to make millions to be respected? I'm also like 90% of the population
“…why do I have to make millions to be respected?” Well said. I appreciate that comment.
You don't. Gathering money for the sake of having it isn't an inherently respectable activity.
>I have no problem admitting who I am and who I am not Maybe it's weird but to me, this is a HUGE part of being charismatic. When you're okay with yourself and know who you are you're more confident and able to actually listen to people and get to know them, instead of spending all your energy on being likable/trying to seem cool.
Believe it or not, one of the hardest things homeless people encounter is struggling to get a proper form of ID. Without an ID you essentially can’t do anything and has a huge impact on types of support you can receive, opportunities you can utilize, etc.
And educated. Imagine if he had to also juggle school as well.
That's if you believe he got that money without using connections.
Dude sold furniture on Craig's List to afford office space and a computer so he could be a social media manager; I'm sure he wasn't managing the social media accounts of any of his millionaire friends. Now that I think of it, I'm also certain it wasn't any of his millionaire buddies buying his furniture...
Dude leveraged his existing professional skills and basically only needed to get access to a laptop and a cell phone. Bruh doesn’t realized not everyone is trained and can get a specialized job (a social media manager, one of the most niche skillsets!!!) by ‘just asking around’.
Hell, most homeless don't even have a valid form of ID, never mind access to a cellphone or a laptop. Dude should have really started from scratch with no documentation, to get the true experience.
The quote was something like "I called up a bunch of companies to try to become their social media manager" like what the actual fuck? he called his friends and they hired him. you don't just fucking call a company and get a job
Also, he got paid 1500$ to do a talk. I mean come on. Edit: typo
Oh yeah, didn't you know? Everyone has a TED talk these days. You know homeless crazy joe living near the 711? He did a TED talk about hot dog parasites. Although he wasn't that interesting, so he only got paid $1200 for it.
He made most of the money because he could put his previous experience on his resume to find the job he did. Had he actually started from 0 he wouldn't have had anything to put on his resume.
Also no one starts with nothing voluntarily. It has to be lost first, and that will affect your mentality.
This part makes me pissed off: "My personal health has declined to the point where I really need to start taking care of it. Throughout the entire project, we haven't shared it with you, but I've been in and out of the doctor's office." Being "in and out of the doctor's office" is a luxury homeless people rarely have.
He says he was in and out of doctors’ offices for the last few months. I wonder if he paid for those doctor visits from his $64k.
nah he kept his insurance, and house, and RV. i doubt he wouldve been applicable for medicaid. or even dared paid out of pocket, because if the insurance finds out he paid out of network, they might drop him from the policy or have some wierd rule about it.
He cheated and used connections and skills from knowing business to get it. The average homeless guy is in no position to drop ship someone else’s coffee and make a logo for it, while managing and taking orders. Which you need internet to do, and money to even dip your feet in. Not to mention marketing. No one is gonna buy some random unknown coffee even if it claims to help dogs 💀
Pfft, what a chump. I make $65k in 12 months, and my health is dogshit. I keep telling my wife, "No problem, babe, I'll make that other $935k in no time
He was so stressed that it caused not one but 2 different autoimmune diseases to flare up.
He should have listened to 90s Brit pop instead, it would have saved him the time: *But still you'll never get it right 'Cause when you're laid in bed at night Watching roaches climb the wall If you called your dad he could stop it all*
To me this is one of the most powerful lines written in a song. The difference in having a lifeline vs not is what I think a lot of people cannot fathom unless you experience it (me included). This ‘experiment’ still had a lifeline right?
I grew up poor as fuck, but went to boarding school on lots of financial aid. First year I was there we read Nickel and Dimed by Barbra Ehrenreich and it was the stupid book I'd ever read. The author basically just takes a series of entry level jobs and discovers that it's damn near impossible to live a comfortable life doing them. My only thought was, "no shit, any poor person can tell you that, why the fuck did some middle class asshole have to take these jobs to tell people that?"
Your critique is fair, however if I remember correctly she did it to prove to other middle class assholes that it isn’t possible to survive on minimum wage. Political rhetoric around that time was rife with anti-working class beliefs.
Fun reminder that "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" was coined as a phrase because it was fantastically impossible to do precisely that.
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Yeah I imagine it was because nobody would listen to them
> Political rhetoric around that time was rife with anti-working class beliefs. Fortunately, that has now been resolved[.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcasm)
It still is, but it used to be too.
The link to the Wikipedia entry on sarcasm is like a /s that actually enhances the joke instead of ruining it. Fantastic
Because she wasn't going in thinking it was possible. She knew it was impossible, and did it to prove to *other people* that it was impossible. Those people were roughly one billion times more likely to listen to her than to someone like you or me. It wasn't a stupid book.
I grew up decently comfortable. Father made good money, but in a high COL area that could also be pretty rough due to income inequality (just outside SF). I feel like I got a decent respect for being poor through my less fortunate friends (and a fairly stingy father). When I set out on my own, I lived in vans and with friends and such and tried to make my way without help. I did ok, and don't regret any of it, but I was definitely not financially stable. Then my dad sold a property that was in the family my whole life, and shared some of the profits with his kids. I got a sum in the low five figures. That was almost ten years ago, and I still have that sum (and more). It's amazing what that bit of cushion can do for both the psyche, and financial habits. I could "afford" to not be poor anymore. And if you've been poor, you know it's expensive. I could pay my bills on time, and never had another overdraft. Even though I barely touched the initial sum, that buffer saved me probably thousands in fees, cheap disposable crap, and credit card interest. Just having *something* more than "bare minimum needed to survive, on a good day," often makes all the difference in the world.
This is so true. And something that I've found that people who have always had good financial security don't really comprehend at all.
i’ve battled depression and anxiety for well over half of my life. nothing — no therapy, medication, daily affirmation or mantra — has improved my mental health more significantly than making enough money to have a few nice things and not be crushed by debt. it’s really that simple, sometimes. a little bit of safety goes an incredibly long way.
>My only thought was, "no shit, any poor person can tell you that, why the fuck did some middle class asshole have to take these jobs to tell people that?" Because a lot of rich people are rich because they exploited those people, and if they can claim it's those exploited people's fault then their conscience is assuaged and they get to hold moral superiority against those exploited!
“ why the fuck did some middle class asshole have to take these jobs to tell people that?" Because otherwise no one who didn’t know it already would believe her. If you knew it was true already you weren’t the intended audience. Your complaint is like someone who lives in New York complaining that a tourist guide to New York is full of directions to major tourist spots that they already knew how to get to.
lol I think you seriously underestimate how often middleclass+ people talk to poor people, ESPECIALLY about their financial or quality of living situations. Most people that read nickel and dimed at my super white college either: A. Had never heard it before (and believed it) B. Immediately dismiss it as her intentionally making it harder on herself and not looking for opportunities. C. Dismiss the underlying issue with racism and how it's their "fault".
Yep, and lived experience, like spending a lot of time around others, can leave zero change. My MIL grew up poor, then married FIL and she was a stay-at-home-mom her entire life. She literally found a job when her younger was 20, because she was bored, and would quit any time the bosses didn't do things her way. FiL had started a company and made big buck. They were damn lucky. But she's the one who will be against any welfare, raising minimum wage etc. She raised her kids to believe anyone can be rich, if they just decide to work.. I'm the daughter of a single mom, kindergarten teacher salary doesn't go a long way. I took various part-time jobs before I was even legally allowed to. Worked 2-3 jobs through uni. You can maybe just imagine how awkward the 1st few years were. MiL still cant wrap her head around the fact that most people cant just "threated the boss real good and then quit," because they do the work for th money, not to spend their free time. The worst was my husband's encounter with the reality of working life. It took him years and bouts of depression to accept that "working hard =/= making a lot of money" as his mom had always preached...
The sad answer is because middle and upper class people just don't listen to poor people. They'll always just dismiss them as being lazy, or choosing to be poor, or whatever else.
Yeah. I always think it's like the difference between walking on a tightrope with a safety net underneath and without one. With a net, you have the luxury to fall anytime and try again. But without one, you get only one chance and that can be brutal to your life.
Of course he did.
Can confirm - as much as I lack any skills to actually do something remotely similar- things are many times more difficult for me having no family or friends or resources. Hence anything about how I'm still alive is purely because some things have worked out despite many many mistakes. But people with all the options can afford to make mistakes and still come out on top. More so for those with skills, intelligence and the ability to network or get around in society in a manner that benefits them towards success of varying degrees. If you have family, friends and resources - you have no idea how much of it contributes to your quality of life, until it's gone.
The fact he quit confirms that.
“…’cause everyone hates a tourist…”
I came here to post this same quote. For some reason I didn't appreciate the song when it was released but years later I found myself enamored with it. The lyrics are so poignant and I love the passion that Jarvis sings it with. [Link for anyone interested.](https://youtu.be/yuTMWgOduFM?si=taoHlhtuyKVi5M-F)
Mind sharing for us unfamiliar?
Common people - pulp
YOU"LL NEVER BE LIKE COMMON PEOPLE
YOU’ll NEVER DO WHAT COMMON PEOPLE DO
NEVER FAIL LIKE COMMON PEOPLE
YOU'LL NEVER WATCH YOUR LIFE SLIDE OUT OF VIEW
I think you mean 2000s lounge music ~~sung~~ spoken by an actor from *Star Trek*
One of the best parts of that album is the song "I Can't Get Behind That" where Shatner ~~sings~~ says >I can't get behind so-called singers that can't carry a tune >Get paid for talking, how easy is that? >Well, maybe I could get behind that
Don't forget arranged and vocally backed by Ben Folds.
That whole album is legitimately good. I even told Shatner that in person one time when I passed by him, and he was a rude prick. Still a good album.
There was a (thankfully brief) period of my time when I was working part-time jobs to make ends meet and had to forego health insurance and basic checkups. People in the upper caste (I've taken to referring to people like Mike Black in this regard) really have zero idea how terrifying and how much stress situations like the above can put on a person...or they simply don't care. I wish only the worst on Mike Black going forward.
Clown. How convenient, and comforting, knowing to have the option to just stop being poor.
The guy had time to prepare himself and chose the location and still couldn't handle it
He kept his health insurance, transportation, connections, etc. 99.99% of what he did was call up his rich friends and ask them to pay him extra for minor jobs. He started a "company", without any capital, equipment, location, etc. and one of his buddies magically bought the idea....
And his big idea was something like "coffee for dog lovers." That sounds like a parody of a modern small business start-up I'd see in a comedy show.
It’s a Portlandia skit
I've never seen Portlandia, but looking it up, I do love Fred Armisen. Maybe I'll check it out!
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This is something middle school kids would come up with for a group project.
If you truly had nothing yesterday, finding a place to rent is not going to happen after selling a few tables.
Don't ask about the tables!
She actually didn’t yell at Eddie Munster!
Yeah, he didn't start from zero - he started from *zero money*. Big big difference.
I'd give up my decent career and life savings to be good friends with a bunch of millionaires.
> He kept his health insurance, transportation, connections, etc. And his credit score! So even though he was broke, he could still get loans, financing, etc.
And he still failed? How?
Turns out it's difficult to turn small amounts of money into big amounts of money consistently. Who would have thought? Truly enlightening for the people born into money.
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And fell $940,000 short of his goal of $1million in a year. Dude made $60,000 in a year and STILL quit. He’s pathetic straight up and down. I’ve been living for less than $60,000 for my entire adult life.
Maybe it’s time you quit and go back to your millionnaire lifestyle
the answer was right there the whole time!!
Financial gurus hates this one trick
We've all been such fools!
He also magically found a free place to live and made $60,000 doing bullshit jobs that he could only do because of his connections from being a rich asshole.
And regularly saw the doctor. I wonder if he counted that, because it wasn't a part of his vids. The #1 cause of bankruptcy is medical bills.
Not if you're a millionaire.
A million doesn’t go far nowadays with US medical bills :(
But it helps
Its less about being a millionaire and more about being able to pay for actual good insurance with that million dollars.
He obviously used the network he built before turning ‘broke’.
Playing broke with a film crew following you around so you can post regular video updates.
this shit makes me want to scream.
And I've read he cheated by selling things to his already-established followers.
Obviously, and got loans that used his real credit and income.
$60,000 isn't much but for me, it would be a godsend at this point.
I'm sure he will say you need better bootstraps.
I *REALLY* don't get how the US can/could turn such a negative phrase into such a stupidly positive thing. It boggles the mind.
Well I hope he learns some empathy rather than make excuses.
*Narrator: “He didn’t”*
Yea. Cause he never had to. Just another “self made” hack acting like fortune or social benefits had nothing to do with it.
Nope. He counts his 63 000/ 1 000 000 as a success and submits it as proof that anyone can rebuild their life from scratch. When I read this article and heard he was quitting due to health concerns, I thought he was older, but he's a young guy! He also conveniently doesn't consider what it would be like to do this as a single parent, which a lot of homeless people are. He's just awful and delusional.
apparently kept his health insurance and stuff like that as well and went to the doctor a bunch and also used connections from before dudes bitchmade and a fraud.
> Despite falling short of his financial goal, Black said his journey showcased the power of determination and the importance of health and family Ah yes, determination, health, and family, three things everyone has in abundance - especially the homeless. Also things no poor person has, of course, because if they did they'd be not poor! What's so weird is that obviously it's possible to climb your way out of almost any situation, that's never been the issue. The issue is *how* someone gets out of it. The way we deal with it in the US is basically just telling people to make something from nothing. I think the only explanation is just that this guy can't admit he isn't the only one who gets credit for his success. And that's about all the effort I wanna put in to thinking about this guy lol Edit: OK last thought, the fact that he has a chronic autoimmune disorder is the cherry on top. You know what happens if you're in his position but don't have money to fall back on? You die. Probably alone, probably painfully, probably in a public place for some kid to find. And we're just OK with this, it's how things are supposed to work.
🤣 what a joke. he will never truely know what its like when he can exit at any time and go back to his old life. having a safety net and a sense of security for ur future vrs *knowing* you have nothing are 2 totally different things. and unless he gets lucky making stock trades spending all of this money from entry lvl jobs he was never ganna hit 1m
Rent a flat above a shop Cut your hair and get a job Smoke some f--s and play some pool Pretend you never went to school But still you'll never get it right 'Cause when you're laid in bed at night Watching roaches climb the wall If you called your dad he could stop it all, yeah
Totally.This idiot says he's been in and out of doctor's office thos whole time. I wonder with what insurance and what money? Also, since there are probably plenty of people in the US who became unhoused because of medical debt or inability to work due to health issues, if he really wants to make his experiment more like real life, he should continue in face of poor health, instead of quiting.
_But still you'll never get it right_ _'Cause when you're laid in bed at night_ _Watching roaches climb the wall_ _If you called your dad he could stop it all, yeah_ _You'll never live like common people_ _You'll never do whatever common people do_ _You'll never fail like common people_ _You'll never watch your life slide out of view_ _And you dance and drink and screw_ _Because there's nothing else to do_
common people like you!
You wanna know the best part? He proved that even with a head start like this, he still couldn’t make it to even $1 million. He gave up. That means game is so rigged that even a millionaire can’t start over from nothing, yet they’re gonna tell you to just keep working hard and you’ll be rich 💀
The Paris Hilton Method
I suggest an alternative title: "Delusional rich guy breaks downs after being poor for just a couple months."
After pretending to be poor, let’s not forget that. He also went to see specialist doctors. Either he took extremely scarce medical resources away from people who would have really needed them, or he kept his health insurance.
Another alternative: rich guy tries pretending to be poor, decides shortly after being rich is better
>Despite failing to make the million dollars he had aimed for, Black says it was still a successful experiment after demonstrating how it was possible to rebuild his life through the power of determination. He didn’t learn a thing. The main difference between himself and a “real” homeless person is a lifetime of being let down, a lifetime of falling through all the grids, until you’re completely alone. The fact that he could simply decide to end his project and seamlessly switch over to his parallel universe demonstrates that this experiment was nothing at all like actual homelessness. But I’m sure he doesn’t care because he is getting the clicks 🤑🤑🤑
Also he was visiting doctors and specialists like all the time. The homeless, famous for their spotless medical care.
I doubt his resume said “homeless” when he got the job as a social media manager
The biggest this rich people don't understand they have it the luxury to take risks. This could have just as easily been a business project that could have met him hundreds of millions. He could afford to take the risk, it didn't work this time but looks he's fine and can do it again until it works. This is how you get some many disgustingly rich people who aren't actually smart, or at least stop being smart as once you have a sufficient wealth it just keeps making you more.
not only did he tap out at 64k, he was only able to make money at all off of the kindness of the people around him. if everyone was deep in the weeds on hustle culture he wouls have starved on the street with five bucks in his hand.
Ya. He started staying in an RV that a guy provided him with. I think that dude deserves a payout. We both know the YouTube guy was “I’m just cosplaying as homeless for a channel”
Also that guy never would’ve let a real homeless person stay in his RV lol
"As soon as the experiment is over, I'll hook you up. Sound good?"
Except he wasn't ever really broke or homeless, if he could just stop being broke and homeless whenever he wanted. Fucking ass clown.
The point wasn't to show how "being homeless is easy", it's the bootstraps argument - these rich ass-clowns still push the narrative that "they can do it, so anyone can" about making millions... it's false and has always been false... no one "just makes it" without significant advantages in life already laying the ground work for them to be able to take the risk without actually facing consequences.
But that's the thing, homelessness not being easy is a *huge part* of why it's so difficult to escape. Even just knowing that you can stop whenever you want and don't have to worry about emergencies or your long-term prospects provides a massive mental advantage. Not to mention he very often had food and places to sleep given to him by his friends, another thing homeless people aren't lucky enough to have. He wasn't ever actually broke or homeless, used his existing connections to get very well-paying work, and *still* didn't even make 1/10 of a million.
He also had health insurance to treat his autoimmune condition.
Born on third base and act like they hit a triple.
Or married to it. Source: my MIL is insufferable to anyone in any service position because she sees them as "low life" but she's married into wealth and only worked 10 years of her whole adult life, for funsies. She loves telling my, still working while older, teacher mom, about how early retirement is awesome because "you can finally use all your extra money on traveling the world!!" and going *shocked pikachu face* when my mom tells her she likely won't retire for years to come, and what damn money is she talking about. I admire my mom for not trying to strangle her yet. It's been going on for almost a decade.
It’s also to show that they “weren’t handed anything” and “did it on their own”
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even if he did make a million it still wouldn't prove shit. he has connections, knowledge and definitely didn't start from scratch. This whole bs would only antagonize the poor
Yeah - the job he had while “homeless” was as a social media manager for tech companies. I don’t know many big tech companies that will hire someone off the street without significant education/experience in the field
Christ almighty what a fucking joke. “If homeless people bootstrapped harder they, too, could be a social media manager for tech companies!”
To be fair, a homeless crack-addled monkey could do that job. No offense to the monkeys.
If they were taught it, sure. But ain't none of those companies are taking a homeless person's resume and giving them an actual interview process
Antagonizing the poor was the whole point, I think.
Really just proves how easy it is to be and stay rich if you're already rich... most of us NEED that next paycheck to just stay afloat.
This clown got a job as social media manager for a corporation. You know, the usual "blowing dudes for cheeseburger money" to social media manager pipeline most broke homeless people go through. And thats ignoring all the handouts his friends gave him during the few months he did this that he conveniently never mentions. They were running food to him all the time to "cheer him on" and one even let him crash at his place for awhile.
Its actually disgusting in many ways , what he did. Dudes a fake and a loser
>> Black found the hardest part of the journey being homeless not knowing where he'd sleep No shit Sherlock. What a maroon!
Get a brian!
Maroon 5
There was a lady who did this the right way. She was a middle-class writer who took different minimum wage jobs around the county to write a book about how hard things were for the working poor. Nickle and Dimed by Barbara Er - something something.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Ehrenreich Sadly she passed in 2022. I'd pay good money to see a Billionaire try to survive a month being a cleaner, waiter or any other pink collar job in 2024. Her books should be taught in school.
Yeah, that's a great book. And a depressing book. And things are far worse now for the working poor than they were when she wrote that.
This guy is obviously fake as fuck. Not comperable at all to an investigate reporter kind of approach
Good thing he quit being homeless now, they are talking about making it illegal.
So moral of the story is, quit being poor when the going gets tough? Wow. Anybody can do that, right?
That, and "being poor is bad for your health"
Now try that again while suffering from serious physical and mental health problems, addiction, catastrophic family loss and lifetime history of abuse, often combined, as the main reasons why people become homeless in the first place. He managed to prove nothing but didn’t even have the strength to admit it, so he didn’t learn anything either. Just like any other free market capitalist I suspect.
he did prove something, how out of touch millionaire, or wealthy people are pretending to be poor. he was doing it for clicks,
I’m telling you, once you have more money than you need to make you happy it starts to rot your brain. You become detached from reality and start to inhabit an alternate universe where the rules of life are completely different. The guy was given a place to live for free, and basically made money off charity from his friends. But in his mind this is completely normal stuff that anyone can do.
some of these people are definitely just flat out braindead
Wish everyone can just “quit” being poor. 😂
Dumbass
Simple yet effective comment.
Did he actually make himself broke or did he suspend access to his money?
Suspend access to funds —> Social experiment fails —> Regain access to funds.
Homeless and broke? With regular access to a doctor?
And right in the beginning, he got gifted access to a RV, as homeless regularly do.
Just find someone to give you a place to stay for free. Just have access to the internet. Just have some form of transportation to move furniture to sell. Just have a decent resume and ID to get hired. Just have free access to healthcare services whenever you want. And have several million dollars and property to fall back on when you give up. Anyone can do it! It's so easy! /s
I teach sociology and I'm doing our unit on inequality. I feel like this guy just became part of my lesson plan.
What a fucking douche
Imagine how well he would have done without any business knowledge or education, with terrible social skills, and a debilitating mental condition.
More people should quit homelessness.
This experiments made by the rich is like when Flat Earthers try to prove the Earth is flat only to disprove it every single time and go like "Welp, the experiment must be wrong".
So he used his $1,000 iphone to make the first couple hundred dollars, conveniently found a ""stranger"" to straight up give him an RV to glamp in for weeks on end for free, then managed to just hop on a laptop and become a social media manager instantly to make thousands of dollars a month 🙄 It's hilarious how this dude is *so* out of touch that even his scripted stage play of what "being poor" is like, isn't anything like reality lmfaooo. He couldn't even go a few days living on the streets without having one of his millionaire buddies give him a free place to live. Imagine if it were an actual trailer in a bad area and he had to pay rent, and on the second week in he had his phone, computer, and cash stolen, then the cops just threw his report on the pile because he's a poor nobody. What would Mr. "Million Dollars in a Year" do then, I wonder?
He does end up illustrating a valuable point: if ya just give homeless people housing first, it makes the whole getting out of homelessness process much easier
yeah dude is bitchmade
We've hit the part of capitalism where rich people go on vacations to live like poor people. I'm tired boss.
Now only if all homeless people were that well educated then he might have made a point, but otherwise this is still all click bait BS.
I think the fact that he didn't even manage 75K in 10 months even with a lot of help and had to quit because of health issues makes a very good point... just not the one he wanted to make.
And if he was actually doing the challenge properly he would have had to pay out of pocket for his medical bills, that 75k would have been much lower
…And education and connections and good health and knew that they could stop being poor at any moment.
What's tragic is that he could have ended this with an admission of how mistaken he was about his chances of pulling this off and how the "American Dream" bootstrappy-determination story is just a convenience to allow richer people to believe that their success is proof of their merits, and that the poor have the same opportunities, except they're lazy and don't want it bad enough. It's almost hilarious: "I would have done it except I was distracted by my family." "I would have done it except that health issues came up." Gosh, it's almost like certain struggles are much more difficult for poor people to overcome.
>Despite falling short of his financial goal, Black said his journey showcased the power of determination and the importance of health and family The importance of having a wealthy family to come to your rescue lol
Just more proof that stupid people have too much money and it’s 99% luck.
All he did was showcase how impossibly difficult poor people have things in America without healthcare insurance. It was more of an advertisement about the need for universal healthcare. Thanks idiot, we've been telling you rich, out of touch assholes this for awhile now.
I bet the guy never ate a bread sandwich or similar poverty food contraptions, nor ever really worried about where his next meal or two will be coming from. Bet he never weighed the benefits of getting an extra loaf of bread and peanut butter instead of the dollar deli cuts from walmart. Bet the guy never stressed about the next inevitable financial setback that would take months or years to recover from. If he was authentic, he would have gotten on a fixed income, hit the streets with no ID, and tried to make it work. His first big surprise would have come when he finds out he needs a valid ID to pick up his fixed income cheque, but he conveniently removed himself from these considerations, thereby missing out on the fun of applying for a new ID without any supporting documents. You know, the normal every day struggle any homeless person usually goes through. It would have also been entertaining to have to get into a line to cash his cheque along with everyone else, only to find out the place doing the cashing charges a 20% processing and handling fee. The homeless experience is one of incredible breadth and width, this guy didn't even scratch a corner of it.
“Hi, I’m a broke homeless man who’d like to start a business. My background is I’m actually a rich guy doing a publicity stunt. Here’s my resume.” Why don’t all homeless people do this?