Reader ‘s Forum–from Nevada to the Bronx to Florida

We wrap up our Reader’s Forum this afternoon with four submissions. One from Catana Barnes, the President of Independent Voters of Nevada, two from college students at  Bronx Community College and a note from an independent activist in Florida.

I hope that you will join us this evening at 7 pm EST for our conversation with co-author of $2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America, Kathryn Edin.

TONIGHT @ 7 pm EST

Politics for the People Conference Call

With Kathyrn Edin, co-author of

$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America

Join the Conversation

641-715-3605 and passcode 767775#

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CATANA BARNES

Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaffer’s $2.00 A Day Living on Almost Nothing in America is one of the most personally relatable books I have ever read. As I read through chapters 1 and 2, I felt as though I was reading through a diary of my own life. Chapter 2, Perilous

Work, affected me so much it was suggested that I not finish reading the book. I will, of course, finish reading the book with great anticipation and, unfortunately, with great sadness. This is a book that can be of comfort and support to those, like myself, who have had to survive on little to nothing and a book that can provide great insight to those who have never had to deal with this kind of struggle. I absolutely believe this book can and will change the way people, in the United State and the /world, understand and view poverty in the United States; a country that proclaims its economic prowess.

CLAUDIA ARROYO

My name is Claudia Arroyo. I am a Full Time Student from Bronx Community College and I am majoring in Psychology. I learned about your work from my Psychology professor Rafael Mendez. I am submitting my thoughts and questions about the writing $2 A Day on Extreme Poverty in America and will be attending the conference call on Sunday at 7PM.

Upon Reading $2 A Day it is interesting to know how close to home many aspects of this book touch upon. Either we have experienced many of these events ourselves or we know somebody who has lived through it or is going through it currently. There is so much struggle and trauma that the individuals mentioned in the story and those who encounter these challenges face everyday and must continue to live with it because it has shaped who they are. What stood out a lot to me was the story of Jennifer and her children. When living with family members it still wasn’t a positive or safe environment for her children. Little did she know the impact that this had for them, especially her son who suddenly became very aggressive and violent to the point where he harmed his sister. Even then his sister also suffered being molested by one of her own family members which forced Jennifer to flee with her kids to somewhere else she could call “home”, although it is difficult to consider a place home, when it isn’t yours and there is no stable settlement. With this we see difficulties of finding places to safely call home, especially with ones own family, they are the ones which can hurt you the most or even abandon you in your time of need. But because these events do have an influence to shape who we are, they certainly are not what officially determines the person we can be, as humans we are dynamic and constantly changing and have the ability to adapt and overcome.

My question to you is, yes it is already difficult to live in the U.S, especially in major cities like New York or Los Angeles, but how much more does the difficulty increase of sustainably living here in the U.S as a person of color, someone who is hispanic/latinx, or even outside of the U.S?

Thank you.

Sincerely, Claudia Arroyo

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MADELINE MANZUETA

    My name is Madeline Manzueta and I am a student at Bronx Community College and here is my comment on the story.

    Poverty is something that is overlooked in this country. Congress doesn’t really care about the poor and their struggles. We see this in chapter 3, as Jennifer talks about her not being able to afford such a place like the one in which her aunt was letting her stay. I can relate to Jennifer because it is very expensive to live. In the Bronx a one bedroom apartment is now going for 1,400 which is impossible for someone with a minimum wage job to afford. They now have programs offering rent controlled housing for what they call “those with low income.” In order to qualify for these apartments you must at least have an income of about 16,000. The average poor person barely even has an income of 5,000 so how do they expect for us to be able to afford these places?

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ASHLEY BRUNO

I just started the last chapter of this book and I am only now starting to see the organized

outlook and commentary on what needs to be done to cure the “disease” of poverty, in addition to accepting the sad symptoms. With 20 pages left, I remember when I was only 20 pages in, still then naive to the wrenching reality of modern day poverty in America and how it would be illustrated in this writing. I really believed I would be reading a how-to-guide on living on almost nothing, as if there was an underground network of people administering tips and lifestyle advice on getting it done, against all odds, without criminal and dangerous activity and/or total dependence on an ultimately unalleviating and traumatizing welfare system.  I am glad to have read this book and been given a reminder, yet again, of what the collective mind set and experience is of the people who aren’t making it, where the cycle of poverty is like a chain that seems to be unbroken, as the closest thing to direct slavery, and actually still is in many ways, especially mentally.

The last few years, since I joined this network of direct urban humanitarianism and canvassed low-income housing buildings advocating for open primaries, I have felt the need to understand better the communities that are suffering the most, and why,  eliminating the “us and them” and completely eliminating the pursuit of “success” in a capitalist driven society that aims to keep the rich-rich, and the poor and ethnic in a box to provide for cheap labor, control, and pocketed subsidies, made on people, that should be going to the programs and the people themselves. The money exists! The gap, margin, and total imbalance in our demographic economy is so extreme, the outlook has become bleak! There are so many people caught in this cycle and they keep procreating in the most terrible conditions. This isn’t yesterday’s “third-world” problem, and this is not a television show. This is today and now. These family stories are just a few of the endless situations going on and all the people suffering, fearing being out in the divided world today, yet unsafe at home, or the bare survival of one.

I am truly amazed by those who are courageous enough to get involved and try to take these issues on, for I have made no difference and was starting to feel like I just can’t. I think of the serenity prayer. “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” I want to focus on that last chapter. I want it to expand. I believe that together we can create the how to guide, because essentially we need to.

This book is definitely not boring, somewhere in between a dramatic yet disturbing lifetime movie and an interview with the real life person behind the door of the NYC Projects buildings the day you stop in and say, “can you sign this petition if you believe in positive change and a fair system?”, wondering how many people live in there and why it smells like that.  I will aim to make the conference call, but I should be working tomorrow. If I change that, I will hear you all on the call. Otherwise you know you will hear from me; I appreciate this listen and learn.

Ashley Bruno is a volunteer with Independent Voting and Open Primaries.

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SAGE SEPULVEDA

What I’ve been thinking ever since I read this chapter is that while a lot of operations are trying to help families in poverty even when it’s rather difficult, there are at least a few operations that make things worse for these families. Poor people may not have hygiene because they weren’t properly taught by their families or that there wasn’t enough water. Families may go into poverty because the housing costs are too much for them to handle. When I read this chapter, it makes me think of a similar problem is happening in all apartments in the Bronx, especially in the South Bronx, because families will lose their apartments because of housing. I think it was an amazing decision for Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer to write how the family, especially Jennifer, will help Kaitlin to cope with the trauma of being sexually molested by Jose, since it shows that even or especially in dark times, some families can still support each other, since not all of them do. It kind of seems like people of poverty are victims of abuse because they’re easy targets. Why are poor people more likely to be subjected to physical, mental, and sexual abuse than people who aren’t in poverty?

Sage Sepulveda is a college student at Bronx Community College.