A Poverty Simulation

Last week, I experienced a poverty simulation, hosted at Steelcase and put on by Access of West Michigan. A group of around 50 Steelcase employees, local medical residents, and interested community members had their eyes opened by this deeply impactful encounter.

We each were assigned a new identity for the simulation. I took on the persona of Yuri Yarrow (I went out a limb and bestowed upon Yuri a simply majestic Russian accent), a 75-year-old man with a chronic lung condition and an inability to walk long distances. My wife Yomelda and I survive on a monthly Social Security stipend of $726. With that, we must pay for bus fare, our mortgage, groceries, and anything else we might need.

The month-long simulation was broken up into four 15-minute weeks. We were assigned various tasks to be completed during certain weeks, to make the simulation as realistic as possible. For instance, Yomelda and I both had doctor’s appointments, her for her diabetes and me for my chronic lung condition, during week 2. That meant, during week 1, we needed to be sure to buy enough bus fare to last us the entire month, as our poor health prevented us from walking places. The planning and strategizing required to satisfy all of these necessities on such a tight budget was stressful enough – and this was only a simulation.

Week 1 started out fine enough. I headed to the bank to cash our Social Security check, where despite not having an account, I was able to thanks to a loan we had apparently taken out the month prior. I returned home with our $726 (minus paying back the loan) to give to Yomelda, who used our last bus pass to head across town to buy more bus passes. She was able to squeak in a trip to buy groceries before the whistle blew signifying the end of week 1.

Week 2 would be a wake-up call. It started normally; we split up our meager pile of dollars and bus tickets and headed out to complete our weekly tasks. After Yomelda bought the groceries for the week (skimping on them for the first time, thanks to our hefty mortgage and utility payments due that week), she met me at the health clinic for our appointments. Keeping in character, several wistful references to Mother Russia may have been uttered.

The nurse ran through our lengthy list of ailments and prescribed the necessary treatments, periodic blood glucose level tests for Yomelda and an ER trip for me if my lungs start acting up. The ER --welcome to life on Medicare and a fixed income. Without Medicare, however, there is absolutely no way we would have survived the month with enough money for even the barest necessities. (The simulation certainly put a different spin on the seemingly constant debates over the social safety net and entitlement programs.)

To add insult to injury, we returned home to find most of our possessions had been stolen, including a television, cell phone, jewelry, and furniture. Even with our free medicine and various senior discounts prolonging our financial solvency, there’s no way we could afford to replace any of them. A police officer roamed the room during the simulation, but, true to form, she seemed unwilling to provide much assistance.

Weeks 3 and 4 played out similarly. A trip to the food pantry netted a three day supply of food to supplement our dwindling grocery budget. I can only hope Yuri and Yomelda have a community center or bingo hall within walking distance, because they certainly have no money for entertainment. With their phone and computer gone as well, their options for social interaction and stimuli seem bleak.

This impactful simulation was just that - a simulation. It's hard to imagine living your life full-time in such a way, but that is the sad reality for tens of millions of Americans. After the 'month-long' simulation, some of the administrators from Access shared some of their personal stories and experiences with poverty. One woman spoke of a divorce and a failed business and before she knew it, she and her kids were homeless and slipping into a cycle of depression and substance abuse.

Poverty truly can happen to anyone, and in trying economic times, it's not as uncommon or as far away as you might think -- a reality which makes organizations like Access and the awareness they bring all the more important.

World Cup

To say I've been enjoying the World Cup so far would be an understatement. My only complaint is the games are too tightly scheduled together. Who has 7-8 hours per day to watch soccer? I wish, but sadly a few other things have remained on my schedule this month besides just watching the action from Brazil.

The world's biggest sporting event has seen an amazing mix of upset wins (Netherlands over Spain!), thrilling goals (John Brooks of the US vs. Ghana!), and upstart countries poised to make historic runs to the final 16 (Who had Chile, Costa Rica, and Algeria in their WC brackets??). The goal-scoring pace, is the highest since 1970 and over a goal/game higher than the 2010 Cup. Maybe it's the design of adidas' groundbreaking Brazuca ball, a more aerodynamic ball with only six patches and internal stitching, or maybe it's the laid-back Brazilian culture and the way they've mastered o joga bonito, 'the beautiful game', that's inspired such entertaining play. Whatever it is, it's been a joy to watch. The coolest part is seeing 32 countries from all over the globe, each with their own culture, style of play, even hairstyles, match up on an even playing field and duke it out for soccer supremacy. 

Here's my favorite goal so far, frame-by-frame:

USA plays next on Tuesday, July 1st, at 4pm.

Sir Richard Branson at the Economics Club

Sir Richard Branson, of Virgin Records, Airlines, Galatic, Mobile, etc. fame, spoke at the Economics Club Annual Dinner last week, and proved there's more to him than a luxurious mane and a flashy lifestyle. In a wide-ranging conversation, he spelled out an inspiring worldview that has enabled him to not only become uber successful, but to share his success and inspire others to join him in making the world a better place. 

He is dyslexic, which if you read Malcolm Gladwell's latest book you'd be convinced is not so much a hindrance as a surmountable obstacle that bestows upon its sufferers useful traits, like an ability to work hard, negotiate and think outside the box. By struggling to read and understand what was going on in school, he didn't achieve the sort of success early on you might have expected from someone of his stature.

He grew up with a very strict mother and a slightly easier father; at age 15, he convinced them to let him drop out of school to start a magazine. This would be the first of over 400 companies he's started during his life. A funny story he told was years after he left school, and had made a little money, the headmaster came calling for a donation, in the hopes of building a new girls dormitory. Not having enjoyed his time at the school very much, Branson said he'd only give if he could name the dorm after his company. (Virgin, for the slow ones.) Needless to say, the headmaster stopped calling. 

The magazine taught him the art of survival and from there he was off. His airline was started almost on a lark - needing to get somewhere quickly (I think he said he had to meet a beautiful woman somewhere outside of driving distance), his only hope was to charter a private plane, which at the time he could barely afford to do. He set up a sign in the airport selling seats on his chartered ride for $29, and sold them all in almost no time. His interest piqued, he called up Boeing to inquire about how to buy a used 747, and Virgin Airlines was born. 

He battled the incumbent British Airways incessantly, leading to this epic stunt:

I was woken up at 5.30am one morning to be told that the BA-sponsored London Eye had a technical problem - they couldn't erect it.They had the world's press waiting to see it going up and I knew we had a duty to give them something to look at. We had an airship company just outside London so we scrambled a blimp and the end result was an airship flying over the wheel bearing the slogan 'BA Can't Get It Up'!!

His business philosophies are refreshing. His entire goal in any business endeavor he starts or joins is to make his customers lives better, and at the end of the day to be proud of his products. He's heavily philanthropic and noted that business leaders can and should do more to tackle the problems of the world. After all, personal freedom comes from economic freedom. He talked a lot about the importance of resolving conflicts before they escalate out of control and into lose-lose situations for all of the parties involved. He was actually part of an envoy set to visit Saddam Hussein to encourage him to acquiesce and cooperate on the verge of the US invasion in 2003. Sadly, that meeting was just a few days late - the bombing started the day before they were set to fly in. 

It's not hard to see why he's so successful. He leads from a position of warmth and openness - he espouses the virtues of praising his employees and celebrating their successes rather than becoming angry at their failures. Clearly, with the wide array of ventures he's got going at any one time, he needs to be a good delegator and surround himself with good people. 

You may have heard about his space travel company, called Virgin Galatic. That might be the last frontier he has yet to conquer - and you can join him too! (for the low, low price of $250,000.)