But they won't give me food. I can't have
food because they put me in a category that
accuses me of being lazy, that accuses me
of trying to rip-off the system.
Hi. Let's talk about the United States government
regulation about food assistance. If a person
is designated as an able-bodied adult, then
they must work 20 hours a week to receive
food assistance.
"Able-bodied adult" is a legal term. It's
not about reality. It's a classification.
The definition doesn't matter for this conversation.
The last time I was in Texas, I asked for
food assistance. My legal classification was
able-bodied adult. To put me into that category
that requires me to work 20 hours a week to
get food is bullshit.
I don't need an incentive to work. When I
was a prosecutor, I worked on average, 80
hours a week.
I was a salaried employee paid $43,500 a year.
As a salaried employee, I don't get overtime.
I get paid $43,500 if I work 80 hours a week
or if I work 38 hours a week. If I had been
an hourly employee paid overtime, my equivalent
hourly wage would have been $10.36.
And 
I worked 80 hours a week anyway. I knew, I
knew all of these things... when I was working,
I was not motivated to work by the money.
[laughing, then crying]
Every, every... [loud sigh]
My boss explicitly told me, before I was hired,
that he did not expect me to work more than
42 hours a week. He explicitly told me after
I'd been there for about nine months, that
I was working too many hours and it made him
look bad. And then... Those are his words.
And he said, "No one expects you to work overtime."
Those are his words. I don't need a motivation
to do my job, to work. [sigh]
The social safety net in the United States
classified me as an able-bodied adult and
they treated me like a disobedient child.
So, I have to work 20 hours a week to be able
to have food. I don't, I don't... I don't
need any motivation. I'll work.
I graduated in the top 3% of my law school
class. I also have a degree in psychology.
So I have two degrees, and I was making $10.36
an hour. I'm telling you all this because
I want to emphasize I don't need any fucking
motivation to fucking work. I'll work.
I don't, I don't work because I'm too sick.
[crying] But, they called me an able-bodied
adult. You see, see how, see how able-bodied
I am? I'm even able to take care of my teeth.
I didn't have dental problems. [crying] But
they won't give me food. I can't have food.
I can't even have food. Because, because they
think I... Because they put me in a category
that... that accuses me of being lazy, that
accuses me of trying to... trying to rip off
the system, trying to play the system.
Look, I went to law school eyes wide open.
Before I went to law school, I had no debt.
I had a good career in computers with a lot
of experience. I have 15 computer certifications.
I did a lot of research. I calculated worst-case
scenarios, best-case scenarios, and the like.
And the worst-case scenario, financially,
was I graduate with about $200,000 worth of
debt and I get a job that only pays me $50,000
a year. And I graduated with $200,000 worth
of debt. And then I got the job working as
a prosecutor.
And I knew before I started, the salary was
so low, I would not even be able to make my
debt payments, so that after one year of working,
my debt actually went up. And it was okay.
I knew that before I went to law school. I
calculated that this was a real possibility
before I went to law school: that I would
be poor, really, with a lot of debt for...
for 20 or 25 years. I knew that before I went
to law school. And I went, and I was fucking
happy. I'm serious. I was so happy. [intense
crying] I loved law school. I loved it. [intense
crying]
And I never thought I'd work for the government
as a trial lawyer. When I... [sigh] And the
job was really fucking hard. And my personal
life sucked because I lived in the middle
of fucking nowhere. And it was the most fulfilling
part of my life. That one year. That one year
of being a prosecutor. Oh my God, it was so
fulfilling.
When I, when I was a teacher, that was really
fulfilling. My students were amazing. It was
my students that inspired me to finish my
bachelor's degree. They inspired me to go
to law school. I really... [crying] I loved...
It was such a filling job. They worked so
hard. And being a prosecutor, being an assistant
State's Attorney was even more fulfilling!
I'm not... I'm not upset or complaining about
the money I was making, or that I was poor,
or how society treated me at that time. I'm
not complaining about that. I'm telling you
about this because I want to illustrate I
don't need a fucking incentive to work! [crying]
When I was a prosecutor, I was... I essentially
paid $16,000! For the, for the privilege of
being a prosecutor because that's how much
my debt increased. And I did it! And I was
happy to do it. I was happy to do it.
I never... I didn't complain about it. I don't
think... I don't think I told anyone. I don't
think I told my girlfriend. I don't think
I told anyone. Because it wasn't important
to me. It really wasn't. I have... I have
no problem working. Working hard. Working
for no... [laugh] Working for negative money.
I'll do it. But I can't. [crying]
This is an illustration of how the social
safety net functions in the United States.
It's not an aberration. We know it's not an
aberration. We know it's the norm. Look at
our country. We have way too many people who
are homeless, who are stuck in the poverty
trap, and whose children, through no fault
of their own, will be poor when they're adults.
In the United States, one out of every five
children lives below the poverty line. Why
do we punish children because we think their
parents are bad? Every adult that we are punishing
by forcing them into poverty, let's say they
actually deserve it. But their children? Really?
20%? 20% of all of the children deserve to
be punished right now?! Because of their parents?
What the fuck is wrong with us?! Huh?! That's
how the United States treats its citizens.
Leave babies alone! Please.
Please, will you share this video and post
links to it in groups and forums? Thanks!
