Well in this country being born poor gives you the outlook that everyone, especially the government, owes you a handout and god-forbid you get off your ass and get a job or even *try* Someone call the whah-ambulance.

Being piss poor often depresses you. But when you stop being pouty and emo and cursing society and actually kick your ass into action, you can succeed.

To play devil's advocate, he didn't do any of this in the face of, say, major illness without healthcare, or carrying the baggage of a youthful indiscretion on his criminal record. I think the overall message is good - work hard, stay out of trouble, and you'll succeed, even if you started with next to nothing. But let's not pretend that just because this guy did it that everyone can.

So this kid did what a lot of poor people do every day - and?

I am wondering if he has any student loans to pay. I am a recent MBA grad and I'll be in the hole for a while.

There was an interesting article about this that talked about how it was possible for him to succeed because he was healthy and male. Healthy, because he was able to get a good job as a mover. That couldn't have happened if he'd had a disability or was a weaker guy. Male, because he saved money sleeping in shelters and other public locations that would have potentially dangerous for a woman on her own to utilize. I congratulate him, but if he'd been a sickly single mom, his approach wouldn't have worked.

Nonetheless, it was a significant accomplishment. I know I will be reading the book. I suspect he didn't save that money by buying himself an iPhone and a flatscreen TV, and every other "necessity" like so many people I know who are "poor"!

This is a good overall message, but it will be pointed to by the same people that complain about immigrants doing exactly this.

@beavis88: Exactly.

@beavis88: To further play, he also was not doing it in the face of having genuinely hit rock bottom.

Always knowing in the back of his mind that at any time if things got too crappy he could bail and go back home probably had some effect on things.

I think the comparison for him v. Nickeled and Dimed is completely unfair. Young (healthier)men have much better odds at finding a job that involves both manual labor and above minimum wage pay. The N&D experiments found that the most common manual jobs for middle aged women barely pay minimum wage, and rarely offer opportunity for advancement.

Additionally, if you've been living in poverty your whole life, odds are you've been malnourished and have a much higher risk of becoming obese (cheetos will always be cheaper than a salad). Without your health, you really are screwed out of most manual labor jobs.

All that said, I will go ahead and agree with him that with near super-human like strength and will-power, most people could get themselves out of poverty.

This story is a perfect example of how perceptions of the world shape the reading of anything.

Conservatives and Libertarians will just say that this proves that poverty is the fault of the poor, who need to stop whining.

Liberals will say that this guy's class privilege allowed him to escape his circumstances.

The truth is that a combination of natural advantages of being born middle class and some common sense allowed this guy to succeed. It's not either/or.

I'm middle class, but I'd never be crass enough to think that I didn't get some damn lucky breaks in life. Yeah, I'm also a good saver and very frugal, which adds to these advantages. But I didn't do it alone.

BTW, this guy used services for the poor while moving up, like homeless shelters.

@Mr. Gunn: I only complain about illegal immigrants. There is a process for immigration, use it or stay the hell out of my country.

The faultiness of the experiment is present in the first three words: "This college grad".

@beavis88:
I disagree, part of the issue is that everyone has a story they could use to prevent them from doing something about there problems. Setting aside medical conditions that would prevent you from working this is the attitude and type of plan people should be forced to have before being allowed on social services. Is it a perfect test that should be the stick to judge all others? Not by a long shot but it should be a wake up call that we need some responsibility to be placed not only on the ones paying the taxes and in turn supporting the poor.

Ten months into the experiment, he decided to quit after learning of an illness in his family.

Ah, there's the rub. In the back of his head, he knew this was just an experiment, fodder for a book and future appearances on GMA. One phone call and he was out, and back in his room in his comfy parents' house.

I've met plenty of trust-fund types who left college to follow the Grateful Dead, live like a street urchin for a couple of months or a year, yet always confident in the knowledge that someday they would rejoin society with ease. Every single one of those kids is now either a lawyer or a doctor.

This guy is a total and utter fraud. It's soooo easy to jump out of an airplane when you know you have the golden parachute of a college education and a stable upper middle-class family to catch you before you truly hit bottom.

pfft! This guy didnt even get mugged, stabbed & have his $25 & shoes stolen! Isnt authentic!

Also.... he always had the knowledge that he could return to his priviledged life any time he wanted.

Put him in a real dire, bankrupt & destitute homless situation & he may have very well turned into an alcoholic.

Here's a quote that I felt was important (from the article):

But surely your background - you're privileged; you have an education and a family - made it much easier for you to achieve.
... I don't think that played to my advantage. How much of a college education do you need to budget your money to a point that you're not spending frivolously, but you're instead putting your money in the bank?

Indeed, all you have to do is read Consumerist!

something about this doesn't add up for me.

also, in most cities being a day laborer does not pay well enough to get your own apartment.

let him try to do this in new york.

Found this quote interesting as well

"I was getting by on chicken and Rice-A-Roni dinner and was happy. That's what I learned ... we lived [simply], but still we were happy."

What does he mean by WE lived [simply]?

@harumph:

Agreed, I remember reading a book called "Nickled and Dimed: on not Getting by in America" where a woman professor gave herself considerably more advantage than this chap, as well as admitted taking some breaks throughout the experiment, and despite working multiple jobs and trying in multiple markets could not make a success of it.

The danger of this is that some of the more self-entitled readers of this board will use this as an excuse to push the message that America is indeed an equitable "meritocracy".

I'm surprised by some of the comments. Sure he could have become an alcoholic if hit complete rock bottom. on the same point, he could have become a druggie, rob a bank, prostitute himself etc. But that's not the point. his point is that your choices are what makes or breaks you. he didn't do any of those things but instead got a job. Sure he was able bodied and was able to get a job as a mover. Other can't so you have to find your own job. THere's enough out there. become a janitor or a stock person or the guy that brings water to the table at a restaurant. if you are going to just become an alcoholic or druggie then they aren't following the american dream and this article doesn't apply to them.

he should have started begging.... [www.walletpop.com]

Also, having an education makes helps this kid be articulate and confident. Even if he doesn't use his degree, he still has those skills that are easily developed at college.

I contrast this story to that of the former residents of Louisiana, who were moved to separate cities, and are still living off of FEMA's dime... If they really wanted to have done something with themselves in the past 2 years, they could have.

So he started off with no debt, probably good or excellent credit, insurance, good health and a good education?

He's already miles ahead of most of the people living on the street :(

BTW: I LIVE in Louisiana, and know many people who have put their own lives back together WITHOUT help from the government.

Reminds me of one of my favorite terms, "Trustafarian".

Exactly like someone else pointed out, these kids rough it for a little while and, then, once they don't like the way things are going anymore, they go to work as a senior partner at their dad's hedge fund or VC firm.

The fact that this kid knew he could bail at anytime and be safe can not be overstated enough in all of this. The risks he knew he could take because of that safety net makes the entire experiment quite unrealistic, imo.

Whether or not you have a financial safety net is probably a huge reason why it's not easy to move up to a higher class in our society.

When I graduated college, I wanted to get into PR. Of course, entry level jobs paid only about $22K per year. I wouldn't be able to pay rent and bills with that job. I had to change gears.
So, by and large, that field (and many others) are only friendly to rich kids who are supported by their family through the low paying years. It ends up paying off big if you stick with it but shows that, often, you need money to get money.

@harumph: you must have skipped the part where he went from day labor to a steady position within a moving company... that'll give you a enough money to afford an apartment. Plus, it never mentioned what kind of apartment, it could have been an efficiency for all we know.

The concept of the story isn't that he went from rags to riches (or rags to slightly better rags), it's that the attitude you have will be what gets you through the rough spots, plus having a goal to maintain that attitude is motivating.

Good for him! I find the whining and "but, but, but..." entertaining to say the least.

@HRHKingFriday: Good lord, not being morbidly obese is considered "near super-human" these days? I knew the health crisis in America was bad, but I didn't realize it was that bad.

@MissTic: Ha! Me too.

It is rather a flawed experiment. He has his health, youth and intelligence. He was smart enough to finish college so that pretty much fills the intelligence quotient.

I see too many have-nots on a regular basis that don't have the common sense of a turnip. I think it is a combination of lack of good parenting, lack of importance on school at home, lack of good education access, probably malnutrition and general attitude.

When everyone in your home growing up is backward, uneducated and lazy someone growing up there might find that the norm and never aspire to better.

That is my best guess on why there are multiple generations of have nots in some circumstances. So we need to either ask them to not breed or find a way to break the cycle.

Personally I have fallen flat on my face twice in life and had to start over. But it wasn't that hard since I know how to function in society and have the intelligence to know how to obtain and keep a decent job.

@Razzler: OK, you try having an above normal (not even obese) BMI and working manual labor jobs. Odds are you'll be able to function, but not necessarily advance. I guarantee you that if he'd had a few extra pounds, he wouldn't have been as successful at being a mover.

The bigger problem I'm trying to point out is that historically, a lot of lower class jobs have been manual. Now, the paycheck at these jobs isn't going to get you much more than junk food, so how are they expected to perform well at manual jobs?

That is what ultimately keeps the have-nots being have-nots.

I don't think the point of his experience was to motivate people who are already homeless. I think it's directed at people who are well off (like he was). He shows that even if things get bad (in terms of money), it's very much possible to survive and not perish on the street. So if you just make common sense choices with your money you will be fine.

@savvy999: Actually, he met and exceeded his goals: he had an apartment, a truck and $5000 before leaving to attend his family. I'm surprised at that point he was still referring to it as an experiment.

This is a load of crap! The experiment is flawed because this kid has several advantages that play to his factor. A true test of his 'pioneer spirit' would involve these factors:

-Could not use banks or savings and loans
-The types of jobs he could get would be limited
-He couldn't seek an apartment in certain areas or price ranges
-He'd need to depend on transportation
-Even if there was an 'illness' in the family, he couldn't bail from his experiment

You get the idea. Many people do flout the law and society and always get the handouts. Many of those do NOT poulate the ghettoes of this nation but the suburbs (can I hear 'mortgage bailout'...)

@92BuickLeSabre:

I'm really surprised that I had to read through all of those comments before that FINALLY came up. With two degrees (at least) life is already set up to be infinitely easier than someone barely making it out of high school.

Does it piss anyone else off that he was using services that are intended for people who are ACTUALLY poor/needy/homeless etc?? I work for a national charity, and we have really limited resources compared to a regular business and this really rubs me the wrong way. He probably could have learned more about being homeless by volunteering or working with a charity/non-profit.

Seriously. Why does he think he had such a positive attitude? Just naturally sunny? Or the product of a privileged and relatively worry-free upbringing?

this story has been around here for awhile,he's local.He had aroomate in his apartment ,and it was pretty crappy and in a bad area..but i agree,good education will outrun a lot of problems most guys would have under same circumstances,plus race would play a factor,since this guy was white..me,i,m irish,i would have stayed drunk!!

Well, the point of the experiment was in response to the book, Nickel and Dimed. I see this as a somewhat faulty "experiment," though, as he has an education. You cannot divorce yourself from your education and upbringing.

It's quite likely he was taught how to save and how to spend and had at least enough common sense to get by. I mean, making $5,000 and living in an apartment, when you have your health, no debt, and a brain, to begin with, does not seem like such a herculean task.

@beavis88: Side note- Juvenile records are sealed, so a "youthful indiscretion" wouldn't matter unless it was committed after he was 18. So at least kids can get a second chance if they screwed up when they were younger.

I am not black, but ask a black person if this story rings possible for them. Black person who grew up poor and didn't have a college education.

I am a progressive. I think that a lot of poor people could use with an attitude adjustment to their benefit. I don't hold patronizing views of poor people as many red state people might suggest. But, at the same time, I don't think this man's experience really translates to a real world poor person, just out of high school. Yes, he was a college grad. Yes, he didn't mention it. But he didn't unlearn everything he learned in college. And he didn't give back the skills that made him a college graduate. There's the gap. You can not mention your education, but your education is going to shine through, anyway.

@HRHKingFriday: I'm guessing you've never worked a manual labor job. I did, as did my fiance, all through college (we did contracting work, installing insulation at the Dynegy plant in New York). My fiance is 5'10, 175 pounds. I'm 5'7, 150 pounds. Very few of our coworkers were visibly unhealthy, though we certainly had a couple chunkos (more on that in a sec).

The company was pretty sexist and my career interests were elsewhere, so I quit once I graduated. My fiance, on the other hand, was promoted to foreman and still works the job while he does graduate work. He hasn't gained a pound.

That said, the owner of the company was massively overweight and unhealthy - easily 350 pounds, smoked and drank as well - and he seemed to have little difficulty hauling coils and building scaffolding.

So what as your point again?

He has his health, youth and intelligence

while youth and health might have played a part, intelligence means nothing in the realm of work he did. I worked as a casual carrier, ride operator, and a Dairy Queen ice cream jockey before landing a gig in the IT field. Neither required more than a high school graduation IF THAT. Heck the ride operator job I had was with mostly Bosnian speaking kids my age who came to America for summer jobs to make "mad cash" that they bought BMWs and fur coats with when they got home.

The sad fact is, most Americans regardless of their stature refuse to lower themselves to "menial" jobs. They look for that great break instead of cleaning toilets, or dumping garbage.

Most homeless these days have actually graduated High School, and if they didnt, its certainly not because they didnt have the opportunity. I couldnt tell you how many kids drop out because they dont give a rats ass and end up on the streets, vs how many truly have issue at home that requires them to drop out. Just about all school systems are required to provide alternate means of education to allow people who are required to support their family time for education and a opportunity to graduate.

While I wont lie and say there is NO reason that people should be homeless, and that no one should be homeless, the sad fact is many who are chose to be that way, and refuse the handouts and help that they are given out of a mistaken idea of pride.

Ok, so the experiment was not ideal. But I think the lessons it teaches are still very important. I think the main thing missing from his experiment was a real reason for being on the street rather than his made up story of druggie mother etc. While he didn't have this emotional baggage to deal with, he also didn't just sit there looking for someone to blame. He set goals and worked hard to get there. Do we need to be monetarily wealthy and overloaded with consumer goods to be happy with our lot? Less can be more.

@darkened:
Right, 'cause I'll bet you never break the law.

In that case, I'll have Rum and Coca-Cola.