"Maria, " who was too embarrassed to give her true name, sits with one of her sons as she finds herself living below the poverty threshold.
The Census Bureau has released its annual poverty report showing more people are living at or below the poverty threshold. This means many are finding themselves there for the first time.
“Maria,” who was too embarrassed to give us her true name or allow us to photograph her face, says she and her husband have had to sell their most cherished possessions.
“We sold our wedding rings, our furniture, everything,” said Maria.
Trying to get help from government agencies is presenting problems too she said because their house, the mortgage for which is more than the its value, is considered an asset. She has two sons, the younger one suffers from Autism. During the interview she begins to break down and her older son, only 12-years-old, has to take on the very adult role as comforter.
CNN’s Jim Roope says it’s one of the hardest interviews he’s had to do. Filled with emotion and sometimes despair, but “Maria” does have hope.
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Wife of Manish, we no food tonight, baby sic. I wat to poor in America thank god for you county many us no hope, wok
to liv i want 21k
The poverty line has always been too low. This is called "the government not wanting to face reality" If they raised the poverty line to a realistic level the government would have to admit to a lot more people living in poverty.
Let's be realistic for a moment. Let's say for a studio apartment you pay $400 a month (this is going to be in some crime ridden neighborhood obviously) and definitely not in Los Angeles. Let's say food is $300 a month if it's going to be remotely healthy. Electricity $30 a month. Phone $30 a month. Gas $15 a month (you live in a warm climate) Let's say you have no car. In fact, let's say you have to walk everywhere. Let's say additional items cost an average of $50 a month...clothes, cleaning supplies, laundry detergent, etc. That's $9,900 for one person.
Let's be a little more realistic. You live in a crime ridden area in a major city. Rent is $600 a month for a one bedroom apartment. You have a child who sleeps on the couch. Food is $600 a month. Electricity plus water and trash is $50 a month. Gas is $30 a month (you still live in a warm climate). Bus fair is $50 a month. That's a $30 pass for you and a $20 pass for your child. Additional expenses are $100 a month (household items, clothing, things your kid needs). You and your child don't have health insurance. You don't pay a babysitter, your kid is latchkey. Your phone is $30 a month.
That's $17,100 a year.
@Jade it"s a good thing YOUR parents were wealthy enough to choose not to abort you. But maybe, rather than apply for assistance for things such as food and electricity, Jade and others like her would advocate that all abortions be gvt. funded, for those below the poverty line-or those for whom another child would "cost" too much?
Hey guys, will you visit SaveStan.ORG a friend of mine with 4 young babies is fighting for his life…… thanks.
The only solution is revolution the only direction is insurrection, time to overthrow this government an establish a true socialistic society. We should all have exactly the same opportunity wealth, medical, education, homes, etc. Why should anyone have more than you? We don't need a government, we can take care of ourselves. Once we establish a true communist society everything will be better.
It amazes me that we care so little about good honest families trying to survive. We bail out large banks and corporations who use the money to fund lavish vacations and bonuses, while decent folks get swept under the rug and left to die.
Well, another family that has 2 unemployed parents and 2 children, this is becoming more and more frequent after bush got elected. GO TO WAR WITH IRAQ! Not the best idea...
$21K income is ridiculously low for a family. How can they afford eating out 3 times a week... cable with 6 movie channels... two vehicles.... movie outings with popcorn & soda every weekend.... cell phones with unlimited calling for all members of the family? Life can be tough when you are poor.
Come to New Mexico. 21K will give you a pretty good lifestyle here. No, you might not be able to afford a house, but you can find a nice apartment, have a decent car and be able to buy food. I know many families that are living quite well on less than that.
we get by with around $24k a year but have a huge tax debt. It's tough. We are both realtors and didn't get licensed until the market tanked, we don't have a small fortune stashed away from back when every dog could get a mortgage and homes sold all day long. We lost our house, we lost our truck and our camper. We have jobs on the side and we haven't gone hungry...yet. No health insurance. We were denied public assitance and reduced school lunches. We have one daugther and it's hard to not be able to buy her new clothes when school starts. Times are tough and life ain't fair but I found in the past that I've learned the most when life wasn't fair. I guess we're not going to be able to afford much for a long time but we're rich in experience.
Jack – We will be feeling the effects of the Bush puppet for decades to come.
I'm a mother of an autistic 10 yr. old boy. So I know first hand that stability is everything. Anytime there are big changes in lifestyle the child reacts in behavors most people can't imagine dealing with. So add financial stress to a woman who already has such a huge psychological strain and I'm sure she's finding it almost unbearable. Everyone one of us would sent her a dollar if we had any clue how intense her suffering is. Many of this countries people are sorely lacking in compassion. There's not enough being done to support autistic families special needs.
I agree that 21K is low. But is a person has skills such as computer, auto, building/handyman, or you can fix things, you can make money under the table and make your life a whole lot better than the status quo. Im in the computer IT for my main job and I work on the side to up my income 10-15K a year. That pays for my hobbies and my large pole barn. Screw the government, I have to look out for me. Because no one else will.
For all of you Republican economic geniuses out there $21000 per year is $403.84 a week pre tax if you add 22% in taxes thats $315.00 a week or $16380.00 a year. Leaving the family with $1260.00 a month, after you pay any kind of rent ...what is really left for a family of 4 to live on?
In the United States today a family of four would be hard pressed to live on $35000.00 pre tax
.I will save you the math , its just about $550.00 a week. When you have Corporate executives and government officials that earn 6 figure incomes and stock options that put them well over 1 million plus a year, the little guy's financial problems become less as less apparent or concerning to them, the term WORKING POOR ring a bell for anyone...anyone... that demographic will continue to increase as we ship good paying jobs overseas to "third world countries" to support their economies. Why cant we staff a call center in rural Tennessee, Kentucky or Louisiana instead of Mumbai, India ?
I'll tell you why GREED and the drive to make wall street happy instead of taking care of the US citizen , they are bending them over a barrel...so to speak. WAKE UP AMERICA the majority of our children will inherit a THIRD WORLD AMERICA , the other 2% will continue on the path of the rich exploiting other Americans for their own financial gain. Until that simple fact is realized we will continue to have Americans suffer with below poverty level wages,while the top 2% reap in excess. How much is too much ? I would love to see the committee that ruled on the $21000 poverty line try to live on it for a year themselves and then report back on the lavishness of what $21000 can do for your family.
While I'm sure it's difficult for them to give up many of the creature comforts that they are used to, $21K per year is not poor by global standards. The UN defines poor as living on less than $1.25 per day (roughly $500 per year). Americans are wealthy – but not all of us have all of the luxuries that we want but don't necessarily need. Less than 2% of Americans live by those standards. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Percentage_population_living_on_less_than_$1.25_per_day_2009.svg
And while this family probably doesn't want to give up their house, they are probably paying a high mortgage (assuming they are paying it at all), there are other avenues for them. While not always the best option, they could file for bankruptcy and give up the house in the bankruptcy. If they can't get government subsidies to help them because the house is considered an asset – even though they're upside down – bankruptcy would get rid of that asset.
If they are desperate enough to sell wedding rings, furniture and other belongings, is seems to me that they have options available that they just haven't explored.
Really....Global Standards... You are going to put up stats on Global Standards that reflect on slave wages paid by Wall-mart and the Gap to manufacture clothing they don't live in Niger, this is AMERICA. You my friend are part of whats wrong here,an affiliate of the not my problem posse.