Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 4:48
#Newsworthy | Why Poverty Persists in America according to a Pulitzer Prize-winning sociologist
I know from previous conversations that I have started on Swell that have to do with unionization and organized labor, that we have a lot of people with varying perspectives on that particular topic. But I'm curious to hear what people think about this idea of poverty remaining a constant due to exploitation in labor and housing and also within financial markets. Looking forward to the conversation
Now, another funny thing about a lot of poverty, and this is coming from personal experience with a lot of this kind of stuff, the poor always seem to find their alcohol and cigarettes no matter what. So I don't know. I think the biggest problem in our country right now, today, is education across the board. I don't agree with the number one thing that should be taught in schools is financial education. It is not taught in schools
I don't think there's any hope for it. So it's either like private school or you got to teach your kids at home. Lots of YouTube, have them read books. That's a big thing. Get kids into reading books, like actually good nonfiction books. Because when you understand how money works, when you understand how it's made, when you understand how to get it, that's really important. You can go out there and you can get it
What they do is they put you in a government system and offer you free money, a certain amount, and they keep you in that bracket, and you don't rise above that bracket, and they want you to depend on them. And so therefore, you'll always be below the poverty line. Because sometimes, as the old thing, the saying goes, you teach a man to fish and he'll eat for life, but you give him a fish and he won't last
It's. Thanks for your response. Really enjoyed it. And it reminded me we grew up with somebody that is on disability, has been on disability pretty much his whole life, except for when he was trying to get on disability, which he eventually did. And what was funny about it is he collected his check every month and he couldn't work because he would lose disability if he could work
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
Well, that's where universal basic income UBI is so smart is that if we were to give them a UBI, it's enough money for them to have a safety net to buy groceries, but they still have to work. But there are no conditions on that money. And no conditions on that money. That means rich people will get it too, and they're free to do whatever they want. This is an equitable situation
Binati Sheth
@Binati_Sheth · 5:00
And when you are hyper focused on, let's say in case of America right now, per how I understand it, the focus is profits, right? Of course. Otherwise, how will this economy sustain itself? How will the American dream justify itself? People come to America because they want that American dream. And that American dream is utilizing this profit incentive. If you can solve someone's problem, you will get people who will be willing to pay top dollar to get solution from you
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 4:32
Now, whether that was intentional or an oversight by the company, it was an issue nonetheless. And when employees were trying to deal with that situation and get it resolved one on one through the company and HR, they were getting nowhere. But through the collective action of the union, those workers were given the money that they legally and rightfully deserved
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:22
That's something that wasn't really clear to me in your response, though. I do appreciate that your particular beliefs are coming from your very personal experience, one on one with some family members, but would just love to have a better sense of kind of like the data or facts that support that belief
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:48
So to me it's a lot more complicated of a situation and I would ask more the question around what kind of systems do we need to build or change or advocate for so that those who have disabilities are treated with more respect and care and given opportunities that will accommodate them better. Of course, in any situation people will take advantage and abuse power or any situation they're in. I actually just posted about that in another swallow about gaslighting at work
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 3:45
There are much larger things I think happening there and I think it's dehumanizing not to consider all of those factors. And your response reminded me of that, Kurt, that we need to take in the holistic picture and it's our responsibility to take care of one another and also the most vulnerable of us because, honestly, it could be us next. We are all open to getting sick, to losing our jobs, to being abused in the workplace or in other situations and having to recover from that
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:16
Someone can attempt to achieve a new goal or start a new career or get an education when they have the support or means, whether that's from their family or even from the government or a scholarship or another institution. In order to go and do that. We are all interconnected whether or not we like it. And I think your metaphor with the body is a beautiful example and reminder of that because every system within our body relies on each other and works together. So thank you so much
You. So it took me a while, but I wanted to be thorough. I had to start from the history up until the present tense of what's going on now. So there's a link there of my swell, of me responding to the data and the history that you so what you were looking for, it would be too long to put it here, so I made a swell out of it
Lololi Speaks
@LololiSpeaks · 4:39
Hey, this is Lololi. Speak. Excuse me. I'm so grateful that you kind of, you know, bring this topic to the table of why do we think poverty still is persistent America? There are so many reasons people will bring to the table and so many different aspects to approach this. And, you know, it's selfishness, selfishness. Selfishness starts at the top