The organization Why Poverty? has published several videos on YouTube that address the nature of poverty itself; these films explore why it exists, where it can be found, and what can be done about it. One of their latest videos, entitled “Park Avenue: Money, Power, and the American Dream,” focuses on income inequality in the United States.
Using the example of an area in New York City where some of the world’s richest people live mere minutes away from one of the poorest neighborhoods in America, Why Poverty? asks us to consider what kind of system results in millionaires walking past blocks “where more than half the population needs food stamps and children are 20 times more likely to be killed.”
The organization’s critique of the American Dream relies on how it has failed so many people; nowadays, it is nearly impossible for a working adult to be the sole provider for his or her family unless he or she was born into a life with the opportunities for a good education and the inheritance of wealth. Mothers and fathers work multiple jobs just to keep food on the table for their children.
As we watch documentaries like those produced by Why Poverty?, we must ask ourselves that very question: why does poverty still exist? And what can we do to make it go away, forever?
— Jake Simon
Source: YouTube
Photo: Hollywood Reporter