Panorama - Poor America (BBC, 2012)

DaltheJigsaw

DaltheJigsaw

With one and a half million American children now homeless, reporter Hilary Andersson meets the school pupils who go hungry in the richest country on Earth. From those living in the storm drains under Las Vegas to the tent cities now springing up around the United States, Panorama finds out how the poor are surviving in America and asks whatever happened to Barack Obama's vision for the country.

ThailandTom

Thanks for the documentary Leon. I use to watch panorama when I was back in the UK, it is quite well put together.

Well, a lot of things here are quite shocking, I knew the situation was bad but I did not know it was that bad. How can a familiy with a 3 bedroom house hottub etc end up in a motel. I hinestly do not know where the US and the west is going to go from here, it could get worse. Is it even Obama and his immistration's fault, could this have been avoided or lessened under his power?

It is not hard to think of the not too distant future and to see a USA which is no longer the world leading country, where the currency is not a safe haven and the problems are worse. What to do?

Dakini

Panorama asks whatever happened to Barack Obama's vision for the country.

The Republicans happened to it.

KnightofBuddha

Panorama asks whatever happened to Barack Obama's vision for the country.

The Republicans happened to it.

Where's the hope and change, sourpuss? Pretty sure he had two years in control of the Congress and presidency.

ThailandTom

Man the US is F'd in the A

Dakini

Remember the Republican filibuster of one of his spending-for-recovery bills? Even as a minority in Congress, the Republicans roadblocked his measures. And let's not forget the insane debt GW Bush caused.

ThailandTom

I know a little about the recent past of the US political world, but not enough to have a firm understanding of how this all happened. I am aware that the two parties are so against each other that they cannot meet half way a lot of the time which I think causes a lot of the problems. If these people did not have such egos and thought about their country, their people and their job, things would maybe be a lot better.

ginab

Panorama asks whatever happened to Barack Obama's vision for the country.

The Republicans happened to it.

Where's the hope and change, sourpuss? Pretty sure he had two years in control of the Congress and presidency.

Instead of working on solutions, we are stuck in this constant bickering between parties. When will this end? It's childish.

Dakini

Yes, there used to be a lot more bi-partisanship, I forget why/how the parties became so polarized. John Kerry and John McCain, back in the day, went to Vietnam together (both being vets, one from ea. party) to negotiate for the return of prisoners of war. You don't see that sort of thing any more. It's tearing the country apart. I think Obama hoped to bridge the gap when he first came into office, but ... oh well. It didn't work out.

B5C

This is due to MONEY!!! The GOP is not going to budge because they are in the pockets of wall street. The Democrats don't do a thing because they cave in to easy under pressure. The same does apply to Obama.

The GOP has become the Far Right. Democrats are slowly becoming like the Conservatives of "Europe". What America needs is a good left wing party. A good Social Democrat/ Democratic Socialist Party.

DaltheJigsaw

Panorama asks whatever happened to Barack Obama's vision for the country.

The Republicans happened to it.

Where's the hope and change, sourpuss? Pretty sure he had two years in control of the Congress and presidency.

Instead of working on solutions, we are stuck in this constant bickering between parties. When will this end? It's childish.

Finally! A VOICE OF COMMON SENSE!:)

KnightofBuddha

Panorama asks whatever happened to Barack Obama's vision for the country.

The Republicans happened to it.

Where's the hope and change, sourpuss? Pretty sure he had two years in control of the Congress and presidency.

Instead of working on solutions, we are stuck in this constant bickering between parties. When will this end? It's childish.

You know, China, North Korea, and Iran don't have so much bickering. Would you prefer such a "united" society?

The issue is not divisiveness per se. It's that liberals and conservatives have two fundamentally different views on how the world works and the role of government. One believes that government should be the guarantor of needs, safety nets, benefits, and entitlements, while the other believes that the individual should provide for himself alone with minimal government interference. The two views are irreconcilable.

Dakini

The two views are irreconcilable.

And yet, they did manage to work together on important bills, sometimes prodded by a strong President with a "bully pulpit", but bipartisan cooperation used to happen a lot more than it has in the last 10-15 years. It is do-able. It has been done. There's a dynamic at work now that wasn't present before, creating obstacles.

Any ideas what that dynamic or factor might be?

ginab

Panorama asks whatever happened to Barack Obama's vision for the country.

The Republicans happened to it.

Where's the hope and change, sourpuss? Pretty sure he had two years in control of the Congress and presidency.

Instead of working on solutions, we are stuck in this constant bickering between parties. When will this end? It's childish.

You know, China, North Korea, and Iran don't have so much bickering. Would you prefer such a "united" society?

The issue is not divisiveness per se. It's that liberals and conservatives have two fundamentally different views on how the world works and the role of government. One believes that government should be the guarantor of needs, safety nets, benefits, and entitlements, while the other believes that the individual should provide for himself alone with minimal government interference. The two views are irreconcilable.

We elected these people into office to do the best for the people - not the party.

vinlyn

The two views are irreconcilable.

And yet, they did manage to work together on important bills, sometimes prodded by a strong President with a "bully pulpit", but bipartisan cooperation used to happen a lot more than it has in the last 10-15 years. It is do-able. It has been done. There's a dynamic at work now that wasn't present before, creating obstacles.

Any ideas what that dynamic or factor might be?

Well, I call it oppositional. I honestly believe there is a psychology there that no matter what one party proposes, the other opposes...kneejerk.

Dakini

We elected these people into office to do the best for the people - not the party.

See, this is the thing. There was a time when elected officials in Congress did unite on behalf of the people, especially when the chips were down, as in the Depression. Look at all the good measures that were enacted back then! But now, with rare exception, it's about toeing the party line. Why is that?

@vinlyn Yes, but how did it get that way? It didn't used to be that way, not as extreme, anyway.

Buddha_Rocket

There was no poverty in the history of the world before Republicans.

vinlyn

We elected these people into office to do the best for the people - not the party.

See, this is the thing. There was a time when elected officials in Congress did unite on behalf of the people, especially when the chips were down, as in the Depression. Look at all the good measures that were enacted back then! But now, with rare exception, it's about toeing the party line. Why is that?

@vinlyn Yes, but how did it get that way? It didn't used to be that way, not as extreme, anyway.

I think that's it. The party line.

When you're running for Senator of Colorado, you're the Republican candidate or the Democrat candidate. But when you're elected, you're Senator to all the people of Colorado. But, the politicians have forgotten that last part.

Dakini

when you're elected, you're Senator to all the people of Colorado. But, the politicians have forgotten that last part.

hm... Good observation. Still, there must be an underlying cause to explain why they're so much more partisan than before. For example, now, much more than before, national politics seems to be about undoing legislation passed by the previous President. Clinton enacts stronger environmental laws, the Repubs come in and change that. It's like one step forward, one step back, on and on.

Imagine--LBJ actually managed to get the Civil RIghts Act passed! Though I heard an analysis recently that said that caused Southern Democrats to defect to the Republican party. Someone observed that each party used to have its conservatives, along with more liberal members. This analyst felt that when Southern Dems defected to the Republican Party, it began a process of gradual polarization between the parties over decades. idk.

I think it has something with the Christian Right coming to power in the Republican party. Fundamentalism. See, Carter was a Born-Again, but he was a Democrat. He's against Fundamentalism.

Just thinking out loud. Trying to get to the bottom of it.