PlaySpent.org and the Painful Reality of the Working Poor
I came across PlaySpent.org yesterday morning and it has stayed with me. You start with $1,000 and no job. How long can you last before running out of money?
This game brought back a lot of painful memories I have from growing up, in particular: moving around a lot (homes and shelters), going to the food pantry/soup kitchen, and asking family and friends for support. While it doesnt capture all of the nuances of making life work when going without–I wish it explored more how we use libraries, how we work with charities, how we rely on others– it drives home the point of how a series of unforseen obstacles can hurt us.
While reflecting on my experiences and the messages of the game, I walked away with the following realizations:
1. Day to day decisions that can make or break our livelihoods: If there is one thing that stands out in this game is how the decisions we make about food, transportation, housing, location, and even the jobs we take have long lasting consequences. Should you live close to work? Your housing will be more expensive, but you wont need as much gas to get to work. Should you buy fresh fruit? It’s better for you but costs more than refined carbs like white bread and pasta. Should you get health insurance? It will keep you covered from injury (which you are likely to suffer because of your job) but it will eat more than 25% of your income.
2. The strength of our support networks: While playing I had to ask for help frequently to make sure I had enough to cover my bills. But then something occurred to me: aren’t my peers likely to be struggling too? Plus the added stigma of asking for money, the unlikeliness of being able to pay that money back or give when asked, and the fear of dependency makes it hard to reach out. It made think about the role of relationships in helping us move forward.
3. The role of charity: One thing that didn’t happen during this game was the option to ask for help from outside sources. While there is a mentality that asking for help is a sign of weakness, I wondered what role nonprofits fill and how people in need of help interact with these services on a regular bases. Are they turned away from shleters? Are they being offered help to apply for food stamps? Are they being guided in fighting an eviction? At the end of the game there are ways to get involved–should we have an option for nonprofits to begin harnessing their power to demand more support for the people they serve?
4. The need for a change in our national narrative when it comes to the working poor: The game starts with “Think you won’t need help?” and we are faced with many decisions that have a greater impact than we would expect. It’s not a matter of simply making bad choices; it’s also about realizing the measly choices we have in the first place.
So what do we need? We need to stop thinking that support services are only for *those kind of people* and that we are immune from needing help. We also need to connect our day to day work for social change with larger structural problems. Why is our work needed? What can we do to foster self sufficiency while challenging injustice?
We often waiver between demanding people “pull themselves up by their bootstraps” or pumping more money into programs. However this is a false dichotomy. It ignores how the two approaches play off of each other and again fosters “us vs them” thinking. It also ignores the role of relationships in access to resources and support.
Have you played the game? What did you think?
This is a great article. One criticism that I have heard of nonprofits is that they don’t seek to eradicate the causes of economic or social problems (poverty, violence, etc.). Simply helping people overcome those problems are not enough, a more radical approach is necessary. What do you think about that critique?
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ajlovesya Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
I’ve heard this critique before and I believe there is some truth to it. However there are various reasons for this reluctance including the very real pressing need to simply acquire the funds to do the day-to-day work. What we need is though is a willingness to see beyond day to day work and support each other in sharing the significance and impact of the work we do. We need to influence not just politics but also culture to seeing the value of our work and why support beyond funds is needed.
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I played the game over and over, trying different decisions at different points, and among my critiques of its simplicity is your point that it never mentions nonprofit safety nets. When your landlord raises your rent and you can’t pay it, would you move in with a friend or contact a rent assistance program? When you buy groceries but they don’t last you through the month, would you ask relatives for help or go to a soup kitchen or food bank? When you fail that temp job typing test (as I did every time, though I’ve passed them in real life–rigged?), would you choose the other jobs or seek out nonprofit job training services? The choices were artificially constrained without nonprofit assistance. I wish someone would create a version of the game that includes nonprofits and underlines the fact that many people still need more help than they can get, but their lives are better than they would be without nonprofit support. (Then players could be directed to a donation page for nonprofit infrastructure organizations!)
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ajlovesya Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 12:36 pm
I agree Elizabeth that the game is narrow in the sense not including the role of nonprofits in times of crisis. I think they try to get this point across at the end of the game by asking for donations so that the organization could actually provide these people with an option. However, given how limited to people are in there awareness of nonprofits it might help to make our work more clear.
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Like Elizabeth, I played over and over. The first time I played, I stuck with my own value system (eating healthy, buying health care, not doing a hit-and-run if my character hit a parked car, paying my bills). I ran out of money on day 8. (DAY 8!!!) When I did make it to the end, I didn’t like the choices I had to make and the “person” I’d had to become to survive. It was heartbreaking. I think this game is a terrific eye-opener. I hope everyone plays.
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ajlovesya Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
I definitely walked away from this game realizing how much my efforts to live a healthier life are ridiculously expensive. What we tout as necessities are really luxuries and privileges for many.
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I work at a nonprofit that provides low-income youth the opportunity to work their way out of poverty through paid job internships and training. We do weekly workshops, and this website is pretty similar to an activity we do with them around budgeting their money. I agree that it’s missing resources from nonprofits, and I also think it’s lacking cultural beliefs that influence decision making.
I liked this website because it evoked compassion from the person playing– it’s not as simple as just “getting a job” to get off the streets.
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ajlovesya Reply:
February 11th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
Thanks for sharing, Julie. The game hits on how difficult it is to actually make the changes that we demand people (especially poor people) to make.
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Frankly, this is such a slanted game. In other words, you WILL fail no matter what you do and this “Supposedly” promotes giving? By making it a “One size fits all, you exclude and overdramatize everyhting from health insurance to eating (I did the food basket with only healthy stuff and it said somehting on the lines of obesity.
So this shows me that it is a slanted game. For what purpose? I can guess and no, I don’t contribute to groups which lie and play games to get a donation.
Thank you.
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PlaySpent.org and the Painful Reality of the Working Poor http://t.co/U1QWBUHo
Play the online web-browser-based game: http://t.co/ntFcG6MC
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I have been there and I had to make those choices.
Some of them at least the game won’t let you make (i.e. roommates, dump cell phones, work multiple jobs and only wait tables during peak hours. Tutor your child in math or languages gives you the sorry excuse that “most poor people don’t have your IQ”).
I know plenty of poor, intelligent people. By the way, I still had $500+ left over after I was done at the end of my month of being poor in real life!
It’s not a “poor people” simulator, it’s a “wrong decisions” simulator and a pretty narrow one at best. Though, I have seen some people make a lot more dumb decisions than whats possible here.
Also why don’t the authors of the game just come out and say “you are now a stereotypical typical dumb, fat unemployed, single black female with an entitlement attitude”… you know, the stuff that the media likes to portrait. … And maybe these types do exist. I have yet to see one trying to work an $8 job… (My comment sounds racists, but it’s really the media diminutive of people that is. If you are single and black you cannot make it… And it’s so untrue.)
But wait! You lost your house, too! How in the world did you get in it to begin with or have any equity in it that would make you care?
This is really intended to make one big sorry excuse for the same people standing in line at the “free-power bill” events driving their SUV and yapping on their cell phone while in line.
I have only seen the non-working kinds complain. If you wait tables at $8/hr (where? I made a lot more) or likely more, you don’t have time to complain. Plus you can usually eat all the salad and bread and little stuff you want! Oh, yes and then there is the shift beer
Just some thoughts… Good intentions are usually also full of unintended consequences…
Teach people how to fish! That has more longevity as you put the responsibility for one’s success or failure back into their hands where it belongs!
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This game and the choices in the game are basically like my everyday life and choices I have to make. When you live poor, it is a life without any kind of quality. You never have extra money, you struggle every single day just to survive. It is so exhausting, you can never get ahead and saving is out of the question.
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