1. What is poverty?

It is defined as not having enough income to meet basic needs. This goes beyond just not having enough money for a new vehicle, smartphone, or to take a vacation. Instead, people who live in poverty struggle to keep a roof over their heads, put food on the table, or even purchase basic items like clothing, shoes, and hygiene items. Which states do you think are the poorest among the US?

The five states with the highest poverty rates are:

1. Mississippi – with over 19 % (19.6%)

2. Louisiana - 19.0%

3. New Mexico - 18.2%

4. Kentucky - 16.3%

5. Arkansas - 16.2%

The USA is among the top 10 richest countries in the world by GDP (gross domestic product) per capita. The gross product per capita reflects the well-being of the country’s citizens. The US is also the largest economy in the world. The income of the US includes mostly pharmaceuticals, oil and gas industry and it is the 2nd richest country in natural resources. It also has one of the largest numbers of billionaires. Forbes estimates that about 28% of the world’s billionaires are American citizens.

How is it then that many people are struggling to keep their lives together? Once considered an American dream, people from middle class have two or more jobs to earn enough for living expenses and the middle class population is decreasing. There are four main causes of poverty, can you guess them? We already mentioned some of them in previous classes.

The causes of poverty in the US may include:

• Medical expenses – many Americans, both rich and poor, develop severe illnesses which require immediate medical attention. Many of these illnesses happen unexpectedly and require long stays in the hospital, expensive drugs, treatments, and even surgery. Even childbirth is a problem, as there is no paid maternity leave in states and they will charge you for hospital fees if you are not insured.

• Lack of affordable housing – or the inability of households to own property (the reason for this is also the growing gap between wage earnings and the cost of housing in the United States). The situation with housing and income is worse in cities, where the cost of living is already higher, such as San Francisco or New York, where the rental is already high enough.

• Lack of government support

• The systematic exclusion of minorities (this includes racial, ethnic minorities, those with disabilities, tribes, and sometimes women) and it could also lead to inherited poverty

• Other causes could be unemployment, limited or no access to education or many more

2. Life in trailers, motels and cars

We will look into our second part, which is life in trailers, motels and cars. There are quite a lot of people wanting to try living in car and consider it to be an adventure. The reality is a bit different.

There is not an universal law forbidding living in your car, but many cities in the US forbid the usage of a vehicle as a lodging. For this reason, there are some free parking lots, where people who live in their cars and trailers can park and sleep in.

They provide shelter and some level of safety because they have gates that close at night and even a security guard.

Different organizations help them as well. They have provided them with a water point, portable toilets and a small outdoor kitchen.

Now we will look at an example of a lifestyle like this. Maria is a cleaner and a carer and she works 7 days a week. She is a middle class citizen that has fallen into poverty.

So why is she living in her van now? She was actually married, lived in a beautiful house but then her marriage fell apart. She didn’t keep anything, she left everything to her husband. But over the last years the cost of rest has gone up so much in California, that her salary was not enough to afford an apartment.

(video: 0:00-2:30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f78ZVLVdO0A&t=228s )

And another example is Eric, who was a successful computer engineer, but due to some health problems he ended up like this.

(video: 6:48-9:36 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f78ZVLVdO0A&t=228s )

So as you can see, people do their best to survive and live somewhat comfortably, even if it is in their cars. They make agreements with restaurants or buy a gym membership where they can shower every day.

Living in motels

Rent systems and laws in some states are very strict towards their citizens. It is very important that you pay your rent on time. In Richmond Virginia, if you fail to pay on time, the landlord has the right to make you vacate the apartment within a week, without taking your reasons such as health issues or low income into consideration.

With no other choice, many people and families move into motel apartments, where they live for a long time. Even if these people have a full-time job with stable income, it is difficult for them to find a new home because of the law. Landlords have access to public records of past evictions that show them tenants payments to landlords. Based on this they consider how “risky” would it be to take the tenant in.

Video: 19:45 – 20:56: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f78ZVLVdO0A&t=228s