The Story We Tell About Poverty Isn’t True

1. The speaker states we’ve overlooked a major resource in efforts to reduce poverty.
What is that resource? Why do you think this resource was overlooked?
This resource is the people who are poor themselves. This resource was overlooked because
when most people have a problem, they go to others for help. It’s not very often that someone
has a life-changing moment and keeps it to themselves. Most people seem to have a tendency
to make their own problems the problems of other people as well, by saying “Hey, can you fix
my problem for me now?” but those living in poverty are a crucial part of their solution.

2. The speaker shares a number of personal stories. What are some of the similarities
or connecting points between the different stories the speaker shares?
One of the similarities between the stories that the speaker shares is that when the people who
were living in poverty had a problem, they were able to fix it themselves rather than going to
other people as most would. Jobana, Sintia, Bertha, Theresa, Brianna, and Baakir, among
others, were able to overcome their own challenges by themselves, which is really admirable
and incredible.

3. The speaker mentions some problems that affect people living in poverty, and more
specifically black, indigenous, and Latino families living in poverty. Identify at least two
of those problems. Why do you think these societal problems affect people of color
who are also living in poverty more than other groups?
The speaker mentions the prison system as well as police violence as problems that primarily
affect poor black, indigenous, and Latino families. And, to be perfectly honest with you, I have
absolutely no idea why these impact poor people of color rather than rich white people. People
of color are just as human as any of the rest of us, no more and no less. This goes for things
like human dignity and how we do good things for each other time and time again. And it also
goes for things like how we have a tendency to mess up and to fail at times. In short, I don’t
know why these societal problems affect people of color more than other groups, given they
are equal to everyone else in the world.

4. What are some ways that the speaker mentions that her children are growing up
differently than she did? What is the point she is making with this comparison?
One of the main ways the speaker mentioned her children are growing up differently that
herself is the story of their after-school lives. The speaker would get home every day, let herself
in, turn on the stove, and have a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli. Maybe, if there was some
money leftover, a Hostess fruit pie to go with it. But her kids get home from school, do their
homework, have a nice snack of what they want rather than what they can afford, and have
organic foods for dinner. She is making the point here that it is possible to move out of poverty,
but it’s really difficult to do. She had to work really hard to do it, without any guarantee of
success (more on that in the next question).
5. Why does the speaker argue that we have to stop telling the story that "hard work
leads to success"? What does this story allow us to believe about people living
poverty?
The speaker argues that we have to stop telling the story that hard work leads to success
because that allows those who succeed to say they deserve success because they worked for it,
but those who didn’t succeed didn’t deserve it because clearly they just lazed around. It’s a
fairly simple concept to explain, but it’s definitely an important one nonetheless.
6. How does the speaker suggest people who are poor can impact poverty?
People who are poor, or anybody for that matter, have limited things that they can do on their
own. We are only so strong, so talented, so capable of dealing with hard situations. But when
you put the strengths of several people together, you get their strengths put together and then
some in return. For example, I can play organ. Someone else at my church can play the
trumpet, and someone else the piano. One would think that putting these together would only
equal as nice of a sound as the three put together, 300%. But it actually equals 400% because of
that collaboration benefit, if you will. The same goes for people living in poverty. If you put the
skills and smarts of 10 people together, you don’t get 1000% of these strengths, you get 1500%
of the strengths of one person. Hopefully that made some sense, but if it didn’t and I can come
up with a simpler analogy.
7. How does the South African concept of “ubuntu” relate to the systems of
stratification and social mobility you read about in the unit?
According to Desmond Tutu, “ubuntu” means "My humanity is caught up, is inextricably
bound up, in yours; we belong to a bundle of life." This means that we all have a duty to help
each other out as needed. If “Person A” struggles, “Person B” should struggle with them. If
“Person B” succeeds, “Person A” succeeds with them because they were help along the way.
This, I feel, relates to stratification and social mobility in that we are all part of each others’
solutions. If there is something we went through and someone else is going through now, we
help them out in it. This is how ubuntu relates to stratification and social mobility.
8. What surprised, challenged, or interested you about this speaker’s presentation?
I was interested by the topic listed in question 5, about how we need to stop saying that hard
work leads to success. If hard work doesn’t lead to success, then what does? That’s the train of
thought that went through my head as I heard this part of the TED Talk. If I had one question to
ask the speaker, I feel that would be it.