The Price of Being Poor in America

This one is personal and bigger than me at the same time.I grew up poor in America before I even knew the word “poverty.” I just knew the feeling of being behind before you walk into a room, of wearing clothes that don’t fit, of watching people you love grind themselves down just to stay one bill away from disaster. Later, as a soldier, I saw other kinds of poverty overseas and it changed how I see all of this. Gratitude and heartbreak can live in the same body.In this episode, I talk about what poverty steals long before we can name it—time, childhood, peace, the space to dream—and how it keeps so many of us living hustle to hustle in a country that keeps calling itself rich. After the talk, I read a poem called “The Price of Being Poor in America,” built like a receipt for everything poverty charges us in blood, fear, and stolen hours.If you’ve ever lived on survival math, stretched a meal so your kids could eat, or carried that low-key shame of “not enough,” this one is for you. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit monkmodesociety.substack.com/subscribe