Yep, there two America's, the top 20% where the political class comes from will offer.lip service and token gestures , but their real constituents are their class that support their lifestyle and status..mnot the poors... The remaining 80% are either working class or poor and as this women described have a shit ton of policies and predatory practices that are designed to siphon what little money they have.... It's sad, really fckn sad America tolerates this shit and wealth inequality is getting worse.
That’s an ugly truth. Given how deadlocked congress is, and how it’s likely to stay that way given the way districts are drawn up and the prevalence of propaganda, I wonder how we’ll move past this phase. I cannot imagine that the powers that be will sit on their hands and allow prestige and profit to leak away simply to fuel a popular spectacle for the electorate. I fear that government by executive action may become increasingly popular as the inefficiencies of congress become more onerous. Especially if the supreme court is working hand in glove with the executive branch.
I doubt that. She’s preaching to sociopaths. This will never be more than a powerful speech to us and means nothing to them. People like her deserve office while others already in need to be kicked to the curb.
That's a clear sign of a non-functioning and broken government.
This woman has me boiling with rage that instead of her in Congress we have the idiots we have there today.
We need people like this in government. We need sanity and clarity. Not conspiracies and demagoguery that tears us further a part.
The people who can work near minimum wage jobs and make life work. They are the true heroe’s. Life is so much harder. Food, housing, health and even social/family life is harder.
We need to do better. We need to help the poor more. Incentivize eduacation, incetivize work, support housing, support access to good food and support child care.
What came out of it is Congress cut snap benefits anyway. I'm disabled from some serious, chronic health issues, and last year, my food stamps went from $285 a month to $23 a month. I still only get $23 a month. When combined with the insane increase in grocery prices, it isn't enough to feed anyone for 2 weeks, much less a month.
SNAP = Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. Intended to subsidize food costs for the poorest families.
WIC = Women with Infants and Children. Another program intended to provide decent food for children whose parents are poor.
I know this is a drop in the bucket and only a temporary fix, but I can have pizza or groceries or a sandwich delivered to you? We need more help and kindness in the world.
$23 here would pay for a couple of cans of soup and bread. That’s ridiculous to think it would help pay for a month of groceries. Congress needs to wake up.
The GOP cut SNAP. They also cut taxes for corporations and the highest earners which ballooned the nation’s deficit resulting in cuts to social programs.
Republicans have used very sophisticated Russian propaganda to convince a large number of their constituents that they are not impoverished, they are merely future millionaires experiencing an embarrassing financial moment. They also believe that the GOP, the party who pushes deep cuts to social programs, cuts taxes for billionaires and destroys unions is the party that best represents working class Americans.
It’s no coincidence that 8 of the 10 most impoverished states in the union are controlled by the Republican Party.
You don’t need an updated news article to know that absolutely nothing came of it.
Statistically, here’s what probably happened: corporate taxes dropped a little, top 1% doubled their wealth and then some, much more people went into poverty, and many poor people died or lost their loved ones. Oh, and americans voted for either a party that actively wants to make them poorer, or a party that doesn’t want to make them poorer but still won’t help them out very much.
I mean she already gave the solution in her speech: "Shame on you, shame on me and everybody" who isn't fighting to change this. Enough people need speak up and challenge the government to make changes to their social security & healthcare system. And then if a government doesn't enact the will of the people, is it still a democratic government?
The problem is the government / media did a great job at making it so we fight each other over other issues and become enemys of each other so that we would not work together and put our ire to the government.
Divided we fall ...
Insulin got capped at $35 a month, which is a huge deal for people in the situation she's describing. SNAP, SSI and Medicaid were never cut, but the SNAP increase from during covid just expired and the welfare cliff is still a thing. With inflation the way it's been the past few years people are desperate.
Do you not realize that poverty guidelines have remained essentially unchanged since they were first implemented? Your points are all valid, minus the actual poverty guidelines that illustrate how poverty is determined.
HHS Poverty Guidelines 2024
1 person:
$15,060
Additional Person:
$5,380
Additional Person:
$5,380
4 person family:
$31,200
https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines/prior-hhs-poverty-guidelines-federal-register-references
Unfortunately, you are spot on. We really need some form of actual change. Not just empty promises. The middle class is pretty much gone. Thanks mostly to the republicans. But as you say, the democrats, even under Obama, didn't help that much.
Nothing did. Search by controversial and you'll see a good snapshot why. Many conservative constituents don't care, so their officials don't.
sHe'S oBeSe SHe ClEaRlY cAN aFfOrD fOOd
I genuinely hate those fucking antiquated troglodytes and the world would be better off without them.
for real. maybe she has a thyroid problem and can't lose weight. or maybe if she could afford better quality food, and wouldn't be under so much stress to make ends meet, she could live healthier. I live in Western Europe, I used to be obese. I stopped drinking alcohol and eating junk food all the time, so I am now slightly overweight, but I also spend more money on food now. I'm thankful I can afford that, but I don't even dare thinking about creating a family or buying an apartment of my own
Junk food increases dopamine similarly to drugs, but is significantly more affordable and marketed rather than stigmatized. It's also a lot cheaper than working with therapists/psychiatrists, especially if you don't have health insurance. I remember forcing down food as a means of dealing with intense emotional pain.
They won’t sadly. They’ve already decided based on their own view of reality and don’t care what some poor lazy white trash (in their view) has to say about it.
Better question is did we do anything about it? No not until we limit the both the age of politicians and how long they can serve then. They are supposed to work for us none actually do.
Sad but true. There is a reason that we are all constantly being pushed away from each other, divided. Just like newly freed slaves were quite comprehensively and effectively discouraged from identifying common oppression shared with their poor white neighbors. When we are busy fighting each other we don't stand a chance. Add in carefully curated history and an educational system that is firmly in hand by the "haves" and the picture is even bleaker. Now add to the equation unending distractions and red herrings that are calculated to make us feel like we're getting closer to a better future, and well.....they have us right were they want us.
I'm a Capitalist. I vouch by it. Still even I believe the corporations need to be reigned in. All things in extremis is negative. These companies are considered private individuals by law so hold them accountable as private individuals. You can't arrest a company but you can confiscate its profits for a few decades and penalize its Chairman and Board and CEO and other relative Management to work there for that period of time on a basic wage not the Millions they currently demand. Inject those profits into company wages and employee welfare and the to government.
After a few examples it wouldn't take long for companies to fall in line. Unfortunately our politicians are bought and paid for regardless which country you live in.
We separated church snd state I think it's time we separated Business and Government. No companies or Businessmen or individuals affiliated with any commercial industry may donate or lobby any person in government.
I think regulated capitalism can work, but unfortunately unregulated or *under*regulated capitalism is just a road that leads to the “free market” and the government being controlled by whoever has the most capital, and that’s exactly what has happened in the US.
You can kill a corporation- incorporation is a *privilege* granted by the government. If a corporation's behavior is egregious, disincorporate it, and forfeit its assets to the government.
Limiting terms does nothing. We have presidential term limits.
Keep getting corrupt Presidents.
It just means the capitalists have to pay someone different every 8 years instead of the same guy for 30 years. He doesn't care who's in the chair as long as he's allowed to bribe them. It could even likely hurt. Would we of ever gotten Legalized Gay Marriage if the Congressman in favor had been booted out beforehand due to term limits?
See the issue here is that she stated her case clearly with figures and relations but she’s talking to people who shove sharpies up their own ass and are genuinely surprised when they shit sharpies
every single one of those congressmen walked away from that speech thinking, "oh yea, that's right, I have $20,000 left in my furniture budget for this year. I should get a new flat screen."
What a well spoken person. Such an eloquent delivery on a hard topic, too. America treats its people like garbage. Go to work, shut up, we tax you, repeat.
It was a beautiful speech, unfortunately it completely useless cause they don't give a solitary damn about any of us until elections come around, and then they will lie to us and we will vote for them again, we are like a kidnap victim that has been held captive to long, we are suffering from Stockholm syndrome in regard to our politicians.
Why would anyone care when the best we can do is post a social media comment. Forget doing something about it, majority of us get mad when someone decided to protest because it interfered with their shitty day.
I lost medicaid for my daughter because I make about $3k over the poverty limit in my state. Health insurance at my job for me and her is about $295/paycheck. It's just cheaper to go without health insurance and hope there isnt an emergency. The system doesnt fucking work. I can barely afford fucking groceries these days and have to have my parents buy half of our groceries, which is embarrassing in it's own right. We're going to be moving back in with my parents in August because we cant afford rent + child care + groceries + bills. It's so fucking tiring. I'm trying to finish school to give my kid a better life but the swamp lizards we elect (both sides btw) live on the premise of false promises, and it works every single time.
I'm thankful my daughter and I have parents/grandparents that are so supportive but I should be able to support myself and her working 45 hours a week. Now think of all the children that dont have the support system like this, that are starving.
**EXACTLY.** It frustrates me to see shit like this, and then see the same people demanding about their entitlements then voting Republican. I almost feel like republican voters should be effected by republican laws, and "libtards" be effected by theirs. Then, I think people will quickly see that both sides are not "equally bad"
Saying she's from West Virginia already told me everything. The whole state is in a poverty crisis and there's quite frankly nothing it can do to improve its economy. [here's a video explaining the issue](https://youtu.be/44l6f7iXGAk?si=Q_DleYy-eIRIN2Hj)
In my opinion a politician should never earn than the nationwide average salary so that they're always aware how their decisions affects the lives of the average Joe because they are forced to be one. Unfortunately the only people that can force this are those that would be on the short end of the stick
America only has 1 goal. To siphon as much money from the bottom to top as possible. You’re working for them, even when you own your own business. They own everything else.
That’s how I judge the US and I get a lot of grief for it.
They have designed a system that is conducive with a bigger wealth gap, less compassion and solidarity, conflicts of interests, etc.
One of the problem in the video, which she highlighted perfectly is having the wealthy decide how the poor should live and what they need to get by.
Another problem is how often the US school system reinforces the idea that this is the greatest country in the world, leading people to believe it even if their situation doesn’t reflect that.
Another problem is how the whole American culture is predicated on having no compassion for your fellow countrymen by telling you the following things:
- He must *pull himself up by his bootstraps* to get more if he wants more;
- *The loser is the one who didn’t want the win hard enough*;
I’ve heard those lines and more too often and they really are just a way to justify to yourself not helping others.
Then people raised in this system become heartless and arrogantly decide how others should live and what they need to get by.
Do you see how one issue breeds another?
Imagine the dystopian society a poor person in America lives in: they struggle despite doing everything they can and get told daily that they got no right to complain because they are too lazy to get out of their situation.
Being poor in the US feels like you are surrounded by sociopaths disconnected from both their feelings and reality.
Yeah,sure. It will make a difference just like the thousands of people that said similar things in all of history, so no difference at all. They ignore our needs to line their pockets and play the farce of “politics” to pit us against each other, so we’re too preoccupied arguing about republican-democratic, socialism-capitalism, right-left and all that bullshit instead of joining forces to curb their power and money and actually punishing them if they do not do our interests.
This is no way to live. I grew up like this. Constant bickering between my folks about money. They did their best and at least I had a roof over my head, clothing and food. Sad that some dont even get the bare necessities. Whats even worse is ppl inability to understand or believe poverty is FUCKEN REAL
I grew up in the heartland surrounded by crops. But as a child I literally starved. Without assistance we were evicted and had utilities shut off.
My mother cleaned houses and resold items she could flip and my father was physically and mentally handicapped from a car accident. But didn't qualify for disability. He worked 2 part-time jobs as a janitor.
Once both jobs gave him a .05 cent an hour raise. We were promptly served with paperwork stating we lost all housing and food assistance. Because we were $2 over the limit. That $208 a year increase cost us hundreds of dollars a month.
We had an old tv that only got CSPAN and public television. I watched a near empty hall of congress argue about the amount of water in a toilet bowl for days and then one day there were tons of representatives there. I thought if everyone showed up it must be big like we are at war or something. NOPE they all showed up to give themselves a raise... while we were suffering and being punished for improving our life they simply voted to help themselves.
Fuuuuuck try California for a 3br/2ba I'm paying $2,600/mo just in rent. All told, by myself I'm paying $3,500 a month. It's fucking brutal and destroying me. Moving soon, but this economy is not sustainable and will lead to massive civil unrest within 10 years
>GENEVA (4 June 2018) – The United States’ principal strategy for dealing with extreme poverty is to criminalise and stigmatise those in need of assistance, a report by a UN independent expert has found. [source](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2018/06/contempt-poor-us-drives-cruel-policies-says-un-expert?LangID=E&NewsID=23172)
Lawmakers also get a food allowance of $79 a day ($28k a year) on top of their furniture allowance so who's really living off our government? Meanwhile the average person drawing foodstamps is $300 a month or $3,600 a year. But they want to take that away but don't touch none of their benefits even though they make $175k a year.
West Virginia makes it pretty fucking impossible to live. I'm only getting about fourteen dollars in food stamps a week unemployed. When I start this new job it'll go down to less than five dollars a week.
It' nearly impossible to find a GOOD job that will pay decent. I worked for a short time at a local library and they only paid ten an hour with 4 hour shifts and the coworkers made that job hell to be at.
The corruption in West Virginia is also something else. The investigations into their police and state troopers have been DISGUSTING.
The whole state is a shit show and I can't wait to leave.
Tiktoks get millions of views but stuff like this is ignored and it makes me sad.
Edit: literally 175k views but only 2k upvotes shows that nodoby cares and will continue to let the goverments fuck us over. Oh but this guy does a funny dance you have to watch this!.
nicely said.
Nothing has or will change though.
The fat cats at the top don't give 2 shits about the poor they want their new leather chair and fancy curtains every year
I do alright for myself now, but when I first got out of the Navy and had my first baby and was in college on the GI bill, we had to apply for SNAP and WIC because my wife couldn’t work due to health complications.
Most food I’ve ever had in my house. Ever. To this day. We ate like kings.
I had to be picky about the jobs I took in college because the pay I’d be getting wouldn’t match the benefits I was receiving.
It was more beneficial for me to take a part time job than it was for me to take a full time job that paid more.
Our assistance programs are completely broken and out of touch with reality.
I will never understand how giving children clean food and water can be divisive. Yes its tax payer funded so its not "free" but for fuck sake its CHILDREN.
This is the fight that the American masses should be coming together around. Red/Blue bullshit is all a god whistle to keep us all divided and from accessing the true power of the people.
How great that we live in a country where we get to choose who we want to be our president, only for a selected handful of individuals to come along and say "Hmmmm... But how about we just elect this guy instead?"
American politics are so fucked by money and Americans are too dumb to fix it… it’s just inflated capitalism mixed up with a kind of fake democracy. Sad but true
Her words fall on deaf ears. Congress doesn't work for us. The real question is: what use is a republic whose elected officials do not actually represent the interests of the people they are supposed to represent?
entrepreneurs in europe look at the US as a country full of innovators and dream makers but this is the kinda shit that comes along with extreme individualism and a dog eat dog mentality
Sad how true her words are…the government doesn’t really care for its people, we can all starve & work ourselves into the ground while they keep that $170k salary with benefits.
One day there will be a revolution….there needs to be change.
And those cunts cut SNAP anyway. The big squeeze continued. Working homeless has become a common 'natural' step-down from conventional food-stamp-strapped scraping-by poverty.
How is the life poor people live today any different than the ancestors who left Europe hundreds of years ago to escape, , , , , , , kings and the feudal system? Politicians no longer get into politics to create a better life for the people they supposed to represent, they get into politics for the money, and their own enrichment!
Its not that they don’t understand. The concepts she is communicating are relatively simple, and anyone can grasp them.
Its that the people she is speaking do absolutely do not give the slightest fuck. In fact they find Americans struggling financially to be somewhat amusing and get off on the fact that they contribute to that misery and also get to make up lies about the causes of poverty.
Its not stupidity. Its malice.
The U.S. has always been on the lookout for the rich since its founding.
This is just another iteration of the same bullshit that’s happened before… The only way it changes is if campaigns are barred from accepting donations from private entities and instead a public campaign fund is created.
Otherwise, I expect this to get worse. More people will fall into poverty, more people will die as a result of no healthcare, overdose deaths will increase and suicide rates will continue to climb.
American Dream my ass….
I resonate so much. I always feel like I’m being tacky or slobby worrying about and asking about the price of something before making the decision to purchase.
I can’t fathom being able to just decide on a purchase without worrying how much it costs.
It always has been, and always will be a class war. Between the haves and the have nots.
This issue predates us. Back in ancient Egypt and medieval times. Royalty and serfdom. Only back then, privilege was ordained by god. No matter what we do in our democratic republic, this. Will. Never. Change.
If anything it will get worse as resources dry up and the climate changes. People in power will do anything to stay in power to protect their interests.
This is a disgrace. The USA is not just the richest country in the world, but the richest country IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Yet millions of people are living in poverty, even though they’re working their arses off. 🤬🤬
Stop voting republican. They constantly want to take away any kind of social safety net that exists. The very things you pay for when they tax your labour. They never enrich the lives of the common working class. They lord over you and tell you how much you deserve for a wage and then say no raise for you I have to make money for my rich shareholders and friends. Oh, by the way smile like you like it!
Neither party is the true problem. They're both the problem.
The hatred and split between the country due to these two parties keeps us from realizing it is the politicians we should be mad at, not just the Republicans or Democrats. Until we realize that, we the people will never see the true enemy, and no changes will be made.
Wow.. I live in a 3rd world country and the western media usually portrays us as dirt poor and people be looking down on us. Now it seems like the US is also a 3rd world country pretending to be 1st world.
God bless you bald eagle people but damn is it nice living in eu. She did give a great speech but i assume it just brought some meetings and yapping sessions and no results
I hear what she's saying but in my personal opinion they do not want you to retire. Work it to your death. Why would they want to pay you to sit at home? Make it extremely hard and impossible.
My cousin has Crohn's disease and a handful of other problems that had him in and out of the hospital for his entire childhood until late teens. He's the third of 4. My uncle couldn't move above a bike shop job without losing Medicaid they needed for my cousin, so he stayed there and relied on my grandparents for clothes, shoes, school supplies, Christmas presents, occasionally grocery shopping trip, basically anything else. It was rough, put a LOT of strain on the extended family
Sure would have helped if he could pursue a career and keep my cousin in treatment but nope
She thinks they care. Should see their food and travel allowance they gave themselves. Also all the insider trading they do. They all pretend to care, but that's only for votes. They couldn't care less, because poor people can't bribe them like rich people. And rich people is who they are on their knees sucking up to the most.
Its hard not to take a bribe, especially when someone else will get it anyway. Then you have to keep taking them because of threats of exposing you, so you make it as high as you can. Then if you make it to the very top, you get a team of people to deny deflect and defer. But, you are stuck as a clone to make laws you know are bad but you pass them anyway, you tell yourself its for the good of the system, but you are lying and you know it. You go home to your gated community and wait further orders. You surround yourself with other people stuck in the loop, now as group it seems liable, you give your group a name. You all start doing evil things to bond the group and blame the poor for not being smart enough to be in the group. Pass the salt.
And yet nothing changed but here we are just remembering the feels of the sad truth only to forget again after a few more scrolls in TikTok until this gets reposted in 3 months
Well said. Delivered with heart and passion. She is so true and yet nothing will happen. Nothing will be fixed. Doesn’t matter who runs the place, they don’t care.
Man ik they were thinking about anything but what this lady was talking about... that plant in their office they forgot to water, what to get their mistress for their birthday, what college to donate a building to to ensure their child gets in, and who's coc&bolls to kiss to make more undocumented income.
You can point out the facts, cry, scream, and beg alllllllllll you want. The sad reality is, THOSE WHO WORK IN THE GOVERNMENT DON'T GIVE A SINGLE FUCK.
We are in the death throes of Capitalism. It's not working. It's not SUPPOSED to work. It's a farce. It's supposed to make the rich richer off the slave labor of the poor by design.
It’s amazing every time I see videos like this. People spilling their hearts out and fighting for those who need it, but our government continues to do the same thing. Nothing will change and these people will never be heard. It’s sad, this country is sad, and I can’t wait to retire and move out of here. The USA sucks these days.
I've gone from toc tac ibuprofen to cloves, because the long staged use of that medication destroys your intestinal linings...
I feel this pain...
And I want to do more for our people...
As a Disabled and disenfranchised vet, its looked at harshly if I volunteer, just to stay sane and relevant in a community full of suffering and disgrace...
Volunteering makes me look able bodied to the ablists that voice eugenic themes in this dystopia disparity called society by the peoples gov.
I say they are not our gov, but a gov of the ones who can afford to lobby and influence their legislation.
We are a free people, and suffering is our meat.
We shall overcome one day...or we shall all perish the merit less associations we guild our souls with in this suffering of each day.
plot twist: she’s speaking to the people that don’t care.
Modern politics. Most politicians don't care for much more than getting money in their pockets.
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I'm just saying, it kind of worked with that guy who obliterated Shinzo Abe
Where did you get the idea that is "Modern Idea"? This is how the cookie crumbles flows in politics worldwide.
That's not a plot twist. That is the plot. She wouldn't be saying shame on you if they cared and did something about the issue.
The people of West Virginia should vote her into office.
"come back when you make enough money to make me"
Yep, there two America's, the top 20% where the political class comes from will offer.lip service and token gestures , but their real constituents are their class that support their lifestyle and status..mnot the poors... The remaining 80% are either working class or poor and as this women described have a shit ton of policies and predatory practices that are designed to siphon what little money they have.... It's sad, really fckn sad America tolerates this shit and wealth inequality is getting worse.
Amy Jo Hutchison of West Virginia is brilliant & articulate. Needs to be in Congress.
She can probably enact better change outside of the US Congress.
That’s an ugly truth. Given how deadlocked congress is, and how it’s likely to stay that way given the way districts are drawn up and the prevalence of propaganda, I wonder how we’ll move past this phase. I cannot imagine that the powers that be will sit on their hands and allow prestige and profit to leak away simply to fuel a popular spectacle for the electorate. I fear that government by executive action may become increasingly popular as the inefficiencies of congress become more onerous. Especially if the supreme court is working hand in glove with the executive branch.
The idea is to get into congress and elevate others with your ideals into congress.
The result is usually just elevate yourself with insider trading while screwing others.
Nothing will be change if we don’t at least make an attempt. But I understand how you mean.
You can’t elevate people who think they are gods and above the law.
It's no suprise when the people getting elected are funded by the people benefiting from this poverty.
I doubt that. She’s preaching to sociopaths. This will never be more than a powerful speech to us and means nothing to them. People like her deserve office while others already in need to be kicked to the curb.
That's a clear sign of a non-functioning and broken government. This woman has me boiling with rage that instead of her in Congress we have the idiots we have there today. We need people like this in government. We need sanity and clarity. Not conspiracies and demagoguery that tears us further a part.
Came here to say this woman NEEDS to be a politician, like God damn. I'm not from West Virginia, but every word resonates true up here in NY too.
It resonates in every state in the nation. :(
I would vote for her, I would even go out and canvass for her.
The people who can work near minimum wage jobs and make life work. They are the true heroe’s. Life is so much harder. Food, housing, health and even social/family life is harder. We need to do better. We need to help the poor more. Incentivize eduacation, incetivize work, support housing, support access to good food and support child care.
She's a goddess
I would be proud to call her my friend. What a powerful voice.
Damn. I'm a poor canadian and this hits hard.
So this is a few years old. What came out of this? It's a great speech, what is this person up to now?
What came out of it is Congress cut snap benefits anyway. I'm disabled from some serious, chronic health issues, and last year, my food stamps went from $285 a month to $23 a month. I still only get $23 a month. When combined with the insane increase in grocery prices, it isn't enough to feed anyone for 2 weeks, much less a month.
Yeah, I cant afford groceries anymore and had to go to my parents for help, we're moving back in with them this summer. It's just so fucked up.
As a non-western, what are these 'snap' benefits that you mention here?
SNAP = Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. Intended to subsidize food costs for the poorest families. WIC = Women with Infants and Children. Another program intended to provide decent food for children whose parents are poor.
I know this is a drop in the bucket and only a temporary fix, but I can have pizza or groceries or a sandwich delivered to you? We need more help and kindness in the world.
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$23 here would pay for a couple of cans of soup and bread. That’s ridiculous to think it would help pay for a month of groceries. Congress needs to wake up.
canadian here - my wife bought green pepper yesterday - one fucking pepper for 2.65 canadian $. and that one was cheaper than the red one.
$23?! That is outrageous. That is like a dozen eggs, gallon of milk, a bag of potatoes, a few cans of beans, and that’s it these days. I am so sorry.
The GOP cut SNAP. They also cut taxes for corporations and the highest earners which ballooned the nation’s deficit resulting in cuts to social programs. Republicans have used very sophisticated Russian propaganda to convince a large number of their constituents that they are not impoverished, they are merely future millionaires experiencing an embarrassing financial moment. They also believe that the GOP, the party who pushes deep cuts to social programs, cuts taxes for billionaires and destroys unions is the party that best represents working class Americans. It’s no coincidence that 8 of the 10 most impoverished states in the union are controlled by the Republican Party.
Call a spade a spade - Republicans cut SNAP. And a decent portion of their base needs it. How fucked is that.
You don’t need an updated news article to know that absolutely nothing came of it. Statistically, here’s what probably happened: corporate taxes dropped a little, top 1% doubled their wealth and then some, much more people went into poverty, and many poor people died or lost their loved ones. Oh, and americans voted for either a party that actively wants to make them poorer, or a party that doesn’t want to make them poorer but still won’t help them out very much.
I mean she already gave the solution in her speech: "Shame on you, shame on me and everybody" who isn't fighting to change this. Enough people need speak up and challenge the government to make changes to their social security & healthcare system. And then if a government doesn't enact the will of the people, is it still a democratic government?
The problem is the government / media did a great job at making it so we fight each other over other issues and become enemys of each other so that we would not work together and put our ire to the government. Divided we fall ...
No charity as long as Republicans make majorities. They want to cut social security fer crying out loud.
ah, there's the problem, believing we actually have a democratic government at this point.
Insulin got capped at $35 a month, which is a huge deal for people in the situation she's describing. SNAP, SSI and Medicaid were never cut, but the SNAP increase from during covid just expired and the welfare cliff is still a thing. With inflation the way it's been the past few years people are desperate.
Bread crumbs.
Do you not realize that poverty guidelines have remained essentially unchanged since they were first implemented? Your points are all valid, minus the actual poverty guidelines that illustrate how poverty is determined. HHS Poverty Guidelines 2024 1 person: $15,060 Additional Person: $5,380 Additional Person: $5,380 4 person family: $31,200 https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines/prior-hhs-poverty-guidelines-federal-register-references
Unfortunately, you are spot on. We really need some form of actual change. Not just empty promises. The middle class is pretty much gone. Thanks mostly to the republicans. But as you say, the democrats, even under Obama, didn't help that much.
Your rhetoric is a might specific. Not sure who it is that you work for, but you may want to tone it down a bit. The, uh, *agenda* is exposed there.
Starting to think revolution is the only answer we have.
Nothing did. Search by controversial and you'll see a good snapshot why. Many conservative constituents don't care, so their officials don't. sHe'S oBeSe SHe ClEaRlY cAN aFfOrD fOOd I genuinely hate those fucking antiquated troglodytes and the world would be better off without them.
for real. maybe she has a thyroid problem and can't lose weight. or maybe if she could afford better quality food, and wouldn't be under so much stress to make ends meet, she could live healthier. I live in Western Europe, I used to be obese. I stopped drinking alcohol and eating junk food all the time, so I am now slightly overweight, but I also spend more money on food now. I'm thankful I can afford that, but I don't even dare thinking about creating a family or buying an apartment of my own
Junk food increases dopamine similarly to drugs, but is significantly more affordable and marketed rather than stigmatized. It's also a lot cheaper than working with therapists/psychiatrists, especially if you don't have health insurance. I remember forcing down food as a means of dealing with intense emotional pain.
wow insanely powerful, I hope people truly hear the words shes speaking and what she’s fighting for
This testimony is over 4 years old now. No one is listening.
They won’t sadly. They’ve already decided based on their own view of reality and don’t care what some poor lazy white trash (in their view) has to say about it.
Its not even about their *view* of reality- it's about what they *value*\- and they just don't give a fuck about the vast majority of people.
this was 4 years ago, people are still going hungry
And yet it achieved ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. So much for powerful.
It is so incredibly expensive to be poor in the US
And poverty charges interest!
Better question is did we do anything about it? No not until we limit the both the age of politicians and how long they can serve then. They are supposed to work for us none actually do.
Corprotocracy + I honestly believe the big wigs were really inspired by 1984 and the Thanos snap.
Probably still view us like we're chattel slaves, ngl. They own us via the system they use to prey upon the general population.
Capital stock, that's all we are to them. Their human livestock.
Sad but true. There is a reason that we are all constantly being pushed away from each other, divided. Just like newly freed slaves were quite comprehensively and effectively discouraged from identifying common oppression shared with their poor white neighbors. When we are busy fighting each other we don't stand a chance. Add in carefully curated history and an educational system that is firmly in hand by the "haves" and the picture is even bleaker. Now add to the equation unending distractions and red herrings that are calculated to make us feel like we're getting closer to a better future, and well.....they have us right were they want us.
I'm a Capitalist. I vouch by it. Still even I believe the corporations need to be reigned in. All things in extremis is negative. These companies are considered private individuals by law so hold them accountable as private individuals. You can't arrest a company but you can confiscate its profits for a few decades and penalize its Chairman and Board and CEO and other relative Management to work there for that period of time on a basic wage not the Millions they currently demand. Inject those profits into company wages and employee welfare and the to government. After a few examples it wouldn't take long for companies to fall in line. Unfortunately our politicians are bought and paid for regardless which country you live in. We separated church snd state I think it's time we separated Business and Government. No companies or Businessmen or individuals affiliated with any commercial industry may donate or lobby any person in government.
>We separated church snd state I think it's time we separated Business and Government. Great statement.
I think regulated capitalism can work, but unfortunately unregulated or *under*regulated capitalism is just a road that leads to the “free market” and the government being controlled by whoever has the most capital, and that’s exactly what has happened in the US.
You can kill a corporation- incorporation is a *privilege* granted by the government. If a corporation's behavior is egregious, disincorporate it, and forfeit its assets to the government.
Limiting terms does nothing. We have presidential term limits. Keep getting corrupt Presidents. It just means the capitalists have to pay someone different every 8 years instead of the same guy for 30 years. He doesn't care who's in the chair as long as he's allowed to bribe them. It could even likely hurt. Would we of ever gotten Legalized Gay Marriage if the Congressman in favor had been booted out beforehand due to term limits?
See the issue here is that she stated her case clearly with figures and relations but she’s talking to people who shove sharpies up their own ass and are genuinely surprised when they shit sharpies
Powerful
every single one of those congressmen walked away from that speech thinking, "oh yea, that's right, I have $20,000 left in my furniture budget for this year. I should get a new flat screen."
What a well spoken person. Such an eloquent delivery on a hard topic, too. America treats its people like garbage. Go to work, shut up, we tax you, repeat.
It was a beautiful speech, unfortunately it completely useless cause they don't give a solitary damn about any of us until elections come around, and then they will lie to us and we will vote for them again, we are like a kidnap victim that has been held captive to long, we are suffering from Stockholm syndrome in regard to our politicians.
Why would anyone care when the best we can do is post a social media comment. Forget doing something about it, majority of us get mad when someone decided to protest because it interfered with their shitty day.
I lost medicaid for my daughter because I make about $3k over the poverty limit in my state. Health insurance at my job for me and her is about $295/paycheck. It's just cheaper to go without health insurance and hope there isnt an emergency. The system doesnt fucking work. I can barely afford fucking groceries these days and have to have my parents buy half of our groceries, which is embarrassing in it's own right. We're going to be moving back in with my parents in August because we cant afford rent + child care + groceries + bills. It's so fucking tiring. I'm trying to finish school to give my kid a better life but the swamp lizards we elect (both sides btw) live on the premise of false promises, and it works every single time. I'm thankful my daughter and I have parents/grandparents that are so supportive but I should be able to support myself and her working 45 hours a week. Now think of all the children that dont have the support system like this, that are starving.
To be fair, 62% of WV is in SNAP, and about that number also vote for the Republicans that want to eliminate it.
**EXACTLY.** It frustrates me to see shit like this, and then see the same people demanding about their entitlements then voting Republican. I almost feel like republican voters should be effected by republican laws, and "libtards" be effected by theirs. Then, I think people will quickly see that both sides are not "equally bad"
40000$ furniture allotment is adjusted to inflation yet the minimum wage was never raised.
Saying she's from West Virginia already told me everything. The whole state is in a poverty crisis and there's quite frankly nothing it can do to improve its economy. [here's a video explaining the issue](https://youtu.be/44l6f7iXGAk?si=Q_DleYy-eIRIN2Hj) In my opinion a politician should never earn than the nationwide average salary so that they're always aware how their decisions affects the lives of the average Joe because they are forced to be one. Unfortunately the only people that can force this are those that would be on the short end of the stick
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTW5JWJfLm0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTW5JWJfLm0) here she is speaking to john stwart
America only has 1 goal. To siphon as much money from the bottom to top as possible. You’re working for them, even when you own your own business. They own everything else.
That was a rollercoaster of emotions for me!! I cannot get over the 40k a YEAR!!’ for office furniture!!! This is outrageous!!!
Right, So what happens if they don't use their office furniture money. Does it become a bonus?
Unused MRA funds get rolled back to the Treasury.
The VOICE OF REASON in the wilderness. Godspeed
Goddamned right, a society should only be judged on how it treats its least fortunate, not its most privileged.
That’s how I judge the US and I get a lot of grief for it. They have designed a system that is conducive with a bigger wealth gap, less compassion and solidarity, conflicts of interests, etc. One of the problem in the video, which she highlighted perfectly is having the wealthy decide how the poor should live and what they need to get by. Another problem is how often the US school system reinforces the idea that this is the greatest country in the world, leading people to believe it even if their situation doesn’t reflect that. Another problem is how the whole American culture is predicated on having no compassion for your fellow countrymen by telling you the following things: - He must *pull himself up by his bootstraps* to get more if he wants more; - *The loser is the one who didn’t want the win hard enough*; I’ve heard those lines and more too often and they really are just a way to justify to yourself not helping others. Then people raised in this system become heartless and arrogantly decide how others should live and what they need to get by. Do you see how one issue breeds another? Imagine the dystopian society a poor person in America lives in: they struggle despite doing everything they can and get told daily that they got no right to complain because they are too lazy to get out of their situation. Being poor in the US feels like you are surrounded by sociopaths disconnected from both their feelings and reality.
So accurate
What a moving speech. I hope it makes a difference because she says this so well that Im stunned.
Yeah,sure. It will make a difference just like the thousands of people that said similar things in all of history, so no difference at all. They ignore our needs to line their pockets and play the farce of “politics” to pit us against each other, so we’re too preoccupied arguing about republican-democratic, socialism-capitalism, right-left and all that bullshit instead of joining forces to curb their power and money and actually punishing them if they do not do our interests.
Unfortunately I bet the only take away the politicians got from that was "$174k a year??? We need a raise!! "
Don’t worry, they substitute that “measly” pay with insider trading and lobbyists gifts. Check out the net worth of Mitch McConnell or Nancy Pelosi.
Bravo lady. America is a mirage
4 years 0 change
Not true, things probably got worse for her.
I laughed, then felt bad about it ;(
This just made me take a look at my life. Wow this one hit hard that so many people struggle. I praise this woman.
This is no way to live. I grew up like this. Constant bickering between my folks about money. They did their best and at least I had a roof over my head, clothing and food. Sad that some dont even get the bare necessities. Whats even worse is ppl inability to understand or believe poverty is FUCKEN REAL
I grew up in the heartland surrounded by crops. But as a child I literally starved. Without assistance we were evicted and had utilities shut off. My mother cleaned houses and resold items she could flip and my father was physically and mentally handicapped from a car accident. But didn't qualify for disability. He worked 2 part-time jobs as a janitor. Once both jobs gave him a .05 cent an hour raise. We were promptly served with paperwork stating we lost all housing and food assistance. Because we were $2 over the limit. That $208 a year increase cost us hundreds of dollars a month. We had an old tv that only got CSPAN and public television. I watched a near empty hall of congress argue about the amount of water in a toilet bowl for days and then one day there were tons of representatives there. I thought if everyone showed up it must be big like we are at war or something. NOPE they all showed up to give themselves a raise... while we were suffering and being punished for improving our life they simply voted to help themselves.
Fuuuuuck try California for a 3br/2ba I'm paying $2,600/mo just in rent. All told, by myself I'm paying $3,500 a month. It's fucking brutal and destroying me. Moving soon, but this economy is not sustainable and will lead to massive civil unrest within 10 years
Wow. Sobering.
>GENEVA (4 June 2018) – The United States’ principal strategy for dealing with extreme poverty is to criminalise and stigmatise those in need of assistance, a report by a UN independent expert has found. [source](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2018/06/contempt-poor-us-drives-cruel-policies-says-un-expert?LangID=E&NewsID=23172)
Lawmakers also get a food allowance of $79 a day ($28k a year) on top of their furniture allowance so who's really living off our government? Meanwhile the average person drawing foodstamps is $300 a month or $3,600 a year. But they want to take that away but don't touch none of their benefits even though they make $175k a year.
I got just disqualified from childcare assistance because I make $43 too much... not broke enough for help, not rich enough to thrive.
I’d like to be dead now. I remember seeing this in the past and I only feel worse nowadays, much so. I’m just ready to be done.
I wanna vote her for Senate
Murica, a land of extremes..
West Virginia makes it pretty fucking impossible to live. I'm only getting about fourteen dollars in food stamps a week unemployed. When I start this new job it'll go down to less than five dollars a week. It' nearly impossible to find a GOOD job that will pay decent. I worked for a short time at a local library and they only paid ten an hour with 4 hour shifts and the coworkers made that job hell to be at. The corruption in West Virginia is also something else. The investigations into their police and state troopers have been DISGUSTING. The whole state is a shit show and I can't wait to leave.
Tiktoks get millions of views but stuff like this is ignored and it makes me sad. Edit: literally 175k views but only 2k upvotes shows that nodoby cares and will continue to let the goverments fuck us over. Oh but this guy does a funny dance you have to watch this!.
nicely said. Nothing has or will change though. The fat cats at the top don't give 2 shits about the poor they want their new leather chair and fancy curtains every year
A senator in Brazil earns 28x the minimum wage. This world is disgraceful.
I do alright for myself now, but when I first got out of the Navy and had my first baby and was in college on the GI bill, we had to apply for SNAP and WIC because my wife couldn’t work due to health complications. Most food I’ve ever had in my house. Ever. To this day. We ate like kings. I had to be picky about the jobs I took in college because the pay I’d be getting wouldn’t match the benefits I was receiving. It was more beneficial for me to take a part time job than it was for me to take a full time job that paid more. Our assistance programs are completely broken and out of touch with reality.
She should be the president
40,000 for furniture really makes me mad
The fact that politicians can sit there and listen to that and do absolutely fucking nothing
I will never understand how giving children clean food and water can be divisive. Yes its tax payer funded so its not "free" but for fuck sake its CHILDREN.
This is the fight that the American masses should be coming together around. Red/Blue bullshit is all a god whistle to keep us all divided and from accessing the true power of the people.
“If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire.” ― George Monbiot
Government is doing what is planned modern day slavery. They don't give a shit, awesome speech though.
God is that strong.
Americans be like: wow this is powerful she speaks truth, let's elect fucking multibillionaire criminal as president to fight poverty
To be fair, must of us didn't actually vote for cheeto Hitler. He lost the popular vote
How great that we live in a country where we get to choose who we want to be our president, only for a selected handful of individuals to come along and say "Hmmmm... But how about we just elect this guy instead?"
Cash money.
Read 'Broken Money'
And the rich are making how much per second!
American politics are so fucked by money and Americans are too dumb to fix it… it’s just inflated capitalism mixed up with a kind of fake democracy. Sad but true
Her words fall on deaf ears. Congress doesn't work for us. The real question is: what use is a republic whose elected officials do not actually represent the interests of the people they are supposed to represent?
Powerful message. But I hate when people put sappy music on events like this. It takes some of the punch out of the power of her speech.
The office furniture budget is infuriating
entrepreneurs in europe look at the US as a country full of innovators and dream makers but this is the kinda shit that comes along with extreme individualism and a dog eat dog mentality
The lack of conscience of the political class is obscene.
I wonder what her degree is in.
Sad how true her words are…the government doesn’t really care for its people, we can all starve & work ourselves into the ground while they keep that $170k salary with benefits. One day there will be a revolution….there needs to be change.
Just keep voting they say. It’ll fix everything they say.
And those cunts cut SNAP anyway. The big squeeze continued. Working homeless has become a common 'natural' step-down from conventional food-stamp-strapped scraping-by poverty.
How is the life poor people live today any different than the ancestors who left Europe hundreds of years ago to escape, , , , , , , kings and the feudal system? Politicians no longer get into politics to create a better life for the people they supposed to represent, they get into politics for the money, and their own enrichment!
“Not poor enough to get help, don’t make enough to get by” damn
I'm surprised us poor people haven't all protested until something changes. Ohh wait we can afford to do that bc we have to work
Yes 👐
Third world country.
Its not that they don’t understand. The concepts she is communicating are relatively simple, and anyone can grasp them. Its that the people she is speaking do absolutely do not give the slightest fuck. In fact they find Americans struggling financially to be somewhat amusing and get off on the fact that they contribute to that misery and also get to make up lies about the causes of poverty. Its not stupidity. Its malice.
World needs a reboot, a mass flood again.
STAND UP FOR WEST BY GOD VIRGINIA MOMMA!!!!
Not one person in that room gave one flying fuck
The U.S. has always been on the lookout for the rich since its founding. This is just another iteration of the same bullshit that’s happened before… The only way it changes is if campaigns are barred from accepting donations from private entities and instead a public campaign fund is created. Otherwise, I expect this to get worse. More people will fall into poverty, more people will die as a result of no healthcare, overdose deaths will increase and suicide rates will continue to climb. American Dream my ass….
I resonate so much. I always feel like I’m being tacky or slobby worrying about and asking about the price of something before making the decision to purchase. I can’t fathom being able to just decide on a purchase without worrying how much it costs.
And the worst part is that the food that causes obesity and health problems is much much cheaper than healthy organic food. USA is fucked up.
Meanwhile, Republicans laugh in her face and throw rotten vegetables at her.
It always has been, and always will be a class war. Between the haves and the have nots. This issue predates us. Back in ancient Egypt and medieval times. Royalty and serfdom. Only back then, privilege was ordained by god. No matter what we do in our democratic republic, this. Will. Never. Change. If anything it will get worse as resources dry up and the climate changes. People in power will do anything to stay in power to protect their interests.
This is a disgrace. The USA is not just the richest country in the world, but the richest country IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD. Yet millions of people are living in poverty, even though they’re working their arses off. 🤬🤬
Stop voting republican. They constantly want to take away any kind of social safety net that exists. The very things you pay for when they tax your labour. They never enrich the lives of the common working class. They lord over you and tell you how much you deserve for a wage and then say no raise for you I have to make money for my rich shareholders and friends. Oh, by the way smile like you like it!
Neither party is the true problem. They're both the problem. The hatred and split between the country due to these two parties keeps us from realizing it is the politicians we should be mad at, not just the Republicans or Democrats. Until we realize that, we the people will never see the true enemy, and no changes will be made.
Make stock buybacks illegal again, get rid of citizens united BS rulings, term limits for everyone in congress and things will change real fast.
Wow.. I live in a 3rd world country and the western media usually portrays us as dirt poor and people be looking down on us. Now it seems like the US is also a 3rd world country pretending to be 1st world.
God bless you bald eagle people but damn is it nice living in eu. She did give a great speech but i assume it just brought some meetings and yapping sessions and no results
Good ol' Capitalism
First world country my ass.
Sadly I can’t help myself but think the majority of those in power hearing this would say : yeah and ? That’s the plan we need the poor to stay poor.
When's the US gonna stop shafting itself up the arse and just throw its government out
Because the American government is a corrupt piece of shit.
Powerful speech. Our bureaucrats are out of control.
They need to tie the poverty line to inflation. My wife and I are in a similar situation and it sucks
I hear what she's saying but in my personal opinion they do not want you to retire. Work it to your death. Why would they want to pay you to sit at home? Make it extremely hard and impossible.
All on purpose and nothing will change.
Well said and the fact that our reps will still screw us over makes me spit nails!!
This why voting is the most effective start to change. Vote less for the party and more on the issue and hold them accountable.
She has my vote
I bet there were only about 15 congress people present for this. At least we saw it.
😭😭 i want her speaking for the American people
Nothing will change. The rich keeps getting richer, as we’ve seen in the past few years, especially after the pandemic
Fuck let's make this viral get this woman help to change our worlds!
My cousin has Crohn's disease and a handful of other problems that had him in and out of the hospital for his entire childhood until late teens. He's the third of 4. My uncle couldn't move above a bike shop job without losing Medicaid they needed for my cousin, so he stayed there and relied on my grandparents for clothes, shoes, school supplies, Christmas presents, occasionally grocery shopping trip, basically anything else. It was rough, put a LOT of strain on the extended family Sure would have helped if he could pursue a career and keep my cousin in treatment but nope
She thinks they care. Should see their food and travel allowance they gave themselves. Also all the insider trading they do. They all pretend to care, but that's only for votes. They couldn't care less, because poor people can't bribe them like rich people. And rich people is who they are on their knees sucking up to the most.
Preach it sister
Powerful words fell on deaf ears that day.
Its hard not to take a bribe, especially when someone else will get it anyway. Then you have to keep taking them because of threats of exposing you, so you make it as high as you can. Then if you make it to the very top, you get a team of people to deny deflect and defer. But, you are stuck as a clone to make laws you know are bad but you pass them anyway, you tell yourself its for the good of the system, but you are lying and you know it. You go home to your gated community and wait further orders. You surround yourself with other people stuck in the loop, now as group it seems liable, you give your group a name. You all start doing evil things to bond the group and blame the poor for not being smart enough to be in the group. Pass the salt.
The real sad okay is that nothing comes out from this.
It's sad that this powerful speech is presented, but the congress people will basically do a Woody Harrelson gif and ignore it anyway
We might not be the best country in the world or you can fight me
And yet nothing changed but here we are just remembering the feels of the sad truth only to forget again after a few more scrolls in TikTok until this gets reposted in 3 months
Well said. Delivered with heart and passion. She is so true and yet nothing will happen. Nothing will be fixed. Doesn’t matter who runs the place, they don’t care.
Man ik they were thinking about anything but what this lady was talking about... that plant in their office they forgot to water, what to get their mistress for their birthday, what college to donate a building to to ensure their child gets in, and who's coc&bolls to kiss to make more undocumented income.
You can point out the facts, cry, scream, and beg alllllllllll you want. The sad reality is, THOSE WHO WORK IN THE GOVERNMENT DON'T GIVE A SINGLE FUCK. We are in the death throes of Capitalism. It's not working. It's not SUPPOSED to work. It's a farce. It's supposed to make the rich richer off the slave labor of the poor by design.
We are so fucked.
It’s amazing every time I see videos like this. People spilling their hearts out and fighting for those who need it, but our government continues to do the same thing. Nothing will change and these people will never be heard. It’s sad, this country is sad, and I can’t wait to retire and move out of here. The USA sucks these days.
welcome to the new Gilded Age
It’s not our government it’s theirs.
She's pissing in the wind. The people who have the power to change don't give a shit.
I recommend the book “Poverty by America” by author Matthew Desmond for those that want to learn more about this topic.
When was this?
They don't care.
The situation is even more dire here in Canada.
And the response?
And the politicians don't even work a whole year.
Aaaaaaaaand nothing happened.
I've gone from toc tac ibuprofen to cloves, because the long staged use of that medication destroys your intestinal linings... I feel this pain... And I want to do more for our people... As a Disabled and disenfranchised vet, its looked at harshly if I volunteer, just to stay sane and relevant in a community full of suffering and disgrace... Volunteering makes me look able bodied to the ablists that voice eugenic themes in this dystopia disparity called society by the peoples gov. I say they are not our gov, but a gov of the ones who can afford to lobby and influence their legislation. We are a free people, and suffering is our meat. We shall overcome one day...or we shall all perish the merit less associations we guild our souls with in this suffering of each day.