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Capitalism is a system that exploits the lower class in every aspect of life in order to line the pockets of the rich. Though younger generations are waking up to the destruction this system has caused to our friends, families, and communities, will it be enough to save us? I speak to Andrea Ibarra, a college student at UNLV, about her experiences with Capitalism.
The Minority Serving Institution Student Council (MSISC) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas along with KUNV Radio are proud to present 'You Gon Listen', a twelve part podcast that aims to shine light on the issues and experiences that minority students and staff face at UNLV. The purpose of this series is to hear and learn directly from one another. We hope to create a dialogue about social issues and current events that shape our daily lives in order to make UNLV a better and more inclusive place.
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So quick disclaimer, we're filming this in late 2020. So if facts change, please be gracious because we're not time travelers.
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Hi, you're listening to You Gon' Listen at 91.5 KUNV. I'm Karen Jean Charles with my lovely guest, Andrea Ibarra.
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And we're talking about capitalism today. Capitalism is defined as a widely-adopted economic system in which there is a private ownership of the means of production. This means the government plays a second role to profit. People and companies make most of the decisions and own most of the property. Here's the problem. Capitalism exploits those on the bottom in order to line the pockets of those on the top. Let's look at Amazon as an example, which is probably one of the most extreme forms of capitalism. Jeff Bezos is the richest person alive with a net worth of 180.1 billion dollars. That's a crazy amount of money. So let's do some comparisons. It would take 11 billion dollars to end world hunger every year. He made 13 billion in one day. If he gave every single Amazon employee a $105,000 bonus, he'd have the same amount of money as he did before the pandemic. Meanwhile, Amazon wages start at about $13 an hour. Employees say they rarely are allowed to have bathroom breaks, struggle to get hours, and have to walk miles a day in the warehouses for $13 an hour. Capitalism isn't just Amazon. It's the federal minimum wage being $7.25. It's the way that minimum wage is impossible to live on, and people have to take multiple jobs to feed their children, while the rich will never in several lifetimes see the end of their money. It's the government giving tax breaks to big multi-billion dollar corporations, but taxing regular people more than the CEOs. It's evil. It's corrupt. So let's talk about it. So I have a guest here, Andrea Ibarra. So if you could introduce yourself, what's your name? What's your major and a little bit about yourself? Yeah. Hi, my name is Andrea Ibarra. I am a DACA recipient and I am from Mexico City. Yeah, I think that's all there is to know about me. So just to get right into capitalism, how does capitalism make you feel? And when's the first time you became aware of the damaging effects of capitalism? Well, at first I didn't know what capitalism even was. I just, I would just hear it thrown around all the time. And I joke around with my little sisters now and I'm just like, capitalism. The first instance of capitalism that I learned about was, you know, obviously in class and working, learning about all the sweatshops, like, out of the country and, you know, the poor living conditions. But I feel like these topics are just slightly brushed upon in class and it's not really impactful. And so you just go on for the rest of your life, just not really aware of that. You said something about the sweatshops that you learned about. Do you think it's intentional that they left that out of the conversation? I think so. Yeah, because, you know, it's not convenient for, you know, the higher ups. And, yeah, I think they kind of just, you know, they rush over that part. And they're like, yeah, there's a bunch of people dying, like, right, because of this. But yeah, let's move on to this other part in history, because that's not important
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or I don't know, cough, cough.
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Yeah, fast fashion is horrible. Yes, every time I get an ad on my phone for Shein, I bought stuff from there once, and I started learning about them, and just, it's cheap, but to the expense of other people's livelihoods. And that doesn't sit well with me, so I bought something from them once and that was one and done and I don't want to ever give my money into something like that yeah ever but which has made me more mindful of where I'm putting my money into so yeah it's a really fine line to walk because so if you take And people really can't afford to pay for like expensive stuff or like stuff made in the United States by ethical reasons. And it's kind of depressing knowing that. Even like if we and it's good that we don't give our money to these companies at all, if we can, but there's people who can't afford otherwise. And I think that's really important to acknowledge because I guess we can't blame capitalism on the consumer. We have to blame it on the big companies. Yeah, it's very cyclical because there is no other way out, like you said. Especially when it comes to, if we're gonna switch off of fashion, we're talking about like fast food. Like I used to be a fast food worker and I got paid like $8 an hour, which was crazy. And then you realize that a sandwich is equivalent to your labor. But the thing is, a lot of people can't afford much more than that, which is, yeah, as you said, it's cyclical, as you said before. So once again, you're listening to You Go and Listen at 91.5 KUNV. I'm Karen Jean Charles and I'm with my guest, Andrea Ibarra, and we're talking about capitalism. So the next question I have about capitalism is, what do you believe it will take to switch to a better, more sustainable economic system? I think, first of all, we have to make everyone aware that this is even happening. And I think it's gonna be difficult because, you know, it's just education. And not everyone has access to it because tuition is very costly. It's not even accessible to everyone to, you know, just pay what, like 5K a semester so people just opt to not do it and so they they don't have access to you know the knowledge about just how how harmful the society that they're living in is. Right so about that I just want to point out that this is being recorded at UNLV, so we are in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Las Vegas, Nevada, specifically Clark County, doesn't really have that good of an education system to begin with. I think we're, I think we moved up from 50th, I think we're 48th. So, there's the school system, it's the money you have, the class, it's your race, it's, I don't know, there's so many things that affect and create the monster that is capitalism. And I think a great place to start is what you said with the school system. But I guess my next question is, how would you go about that if you were in a place of power to change the school system? I know it's a really complicated question, but if you had any advice for the people on the boards, what would you say? I think I would target, you know, the history classes because I think that's where it all begins. I don't remember anything from history, but I think if they made it more impactful and more inclusive of outside nations, because you know, the history that we're taught in high school and public schooling, I think is very Eurocentric. And you don't really hear a lot about, you know, what's happening in Russia or what's happening in Mexico, what's happening in all these other nations. And it's usually very parallel to what happens here in the United States. So I think that we can learn a lot from that. I would probably tell them to go into depth with all of that, even though I feel like they sugarcoat a lot of what happens. And I know it's probably for the good of young minds, but you have to learn somehow and you can't be sheltered your entire life. I think I would tell them to have a more in-depth history curriculum, one that doesn't shadow over, you know, the sweatshops and everything bad that happened and that is happening still
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here in America.
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Yeah.
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And a lot of times we talk about, like, they show us documentaries about the sweatshops and they show us how the people live, but they never paint it in a negative light. They're always like, oh, they're still happy, look at their family and all that. And you know that they're getting paid a really bad wage. But I think it's really purposeful that they don't show us any documentaries about what's really behind the scenes. Right. Do they make it seem like it or they make it seem like it happened such a long time ago and it's obviously not happening today which is what I think a lot of people end up thinking and they feel disconnected from it. Right. Right. But it's happening in California right now. Yes. It's a state over with Fashion Nova they're paying their workers nothing. People feel like, oh, I'm just not going to buy from the brand and then everything will be OK. But there's just so much more that we need to talk about. Right. And this podcast, we talk about it. Yeah, that brings me to my previous point. You don't have access to that more in-depth education unless you go to college. Because I think that's where we get more into the details and the nitty gritty of it all. But you know, not a lot of people have access to that, which is something else that I would recommend. I would probably even go as far to making post-secondary education accessible to everyone. Even though to some people it seems like it's radical and that it can't be done, you know, who's gonna pay for all that? It can! Oh my gosh. Even, you know, the internet is a great resource and you can find a lot of things on there, but unfortunately everything goes on the internet, so there can be people writing and making stuff up, right, so that's one thing to watch out for, which is why formalized education for all would be the most effective. Right. And they always talk about what you said before, who's going to pay for it, but they find billions and billions of dollars for the military to be in places that no one even wants them to be. Yeah. I think it's insane. And then they don't want to cancel student debt. They don't want to give us free healthcare, all that because they want to fund the military. So, US government, if you're watching, I'm talking about you, okay? But moving on, once again, I want to remind you, you're listening to You Gone Listen at 91.5 KUNV. I'm Karen Jean Charles, and I'm with my guest, Andrea Ibarra, and we're talking about capitalism. So, next question. How do you feel about people praising or defending capitalism as fair because these super rich people built themselves up from the ground? Is their opinion valid or flawed? I don't see how you can defend capitalism in its truest form. Maybe they're defending something else that isn't capitalism, because I know that idea of building yourself up from nothing, essentially. That's great, but a lot of these companies aren't really building themselves up from zero. They start off with millions of dollars in loans. From their parents who are also wealthy. Yeah. Like they always talk about Jeff Bezos starting Amazon from their garage. But I'm like, he was funded by his parents who had money. So it's none of my business, but it's my business. I think it's going back to the education system, the fact that we have people defending capitalism when it literally works against them just for the purpose of defending it, I think we also need to talk about that in our education system as well. We brainwash people into believing, oh, these big corporations, you know, McDonald's, they had one restaurant, and now they're like a multi-billion dollar company, they're all over the world, you know, it just, everyone can get there. But when you really think about it, these are like, these are the top 1%. So 99% of these people are never going to get there. Right. And capitalism kind of brainwashes us to say, hey, you know, I can get there one day if I work nonstop, if I put my mental health at risk, if I put my physical well-being at risk, if I put the well-being of others at risk, but I can get there. Exactly. And a lot of these about what you said, putting other people's wellbeing at risk. Like you don't become a billionaire unless you step on the neck of other people. And Jeff Bezos, I'm just using him as an example because everyone, everyone and their mom got an Amazon account. But his workers are paid next to nothing compared to what they're supposed to be paid and which is how he makes his money. He scams the IRS and which is why he makes his money. So like people saying, oh, you know, everyone can get there is definitely flawed, in my opinion. Of course, I just want to remind you once again, you're listening to You Go and Listen at 91.5 KUNV. I'm Karen Jean Charles with my lovely guest Andrea O'Barra, and we're talking about capitalism. So another question I have for you is about UNLV specifically. So UNLV also participates and benefits from capitalism. It is a corporation, whether people like it or not. What can we do to change that? Is there anything the university can do to make college more economically accessible for students? Yes, of course. I think UNLV can definitely do a lot to, you know, minimize the harmful effects of capitalism and how it affects its students. I know personally being a DACA recipient, I don't receive a lot of federal funds. So tuition is obviously going to be a lot more financially draining on myself and my family who helps me pay for it. So I think that they can help by, you know, having more resources available to people who don't receive federal aid. I think it even affects people who do receive federal aid because most of the time it's not even a lot to cover half of the tuition. Yeah, I want to talk about how just recently with COVID and everything going on, you know they they stopped the late fees, but they're implemented. The late fees are back again, but we're still in a pandemic and a lot of us are still jobless. I think they could be a little bit more mindful of that. I mean, I think I'm going to appeal my late fees and hopefully they can be understanding of it and understand. I would ask them to be understanding of everyone else's situations too, especially now. And I think, especially during this COVID semester, I don't know why I'm calling it the COVID semester, but that's kind of what it feels like, they raised tuition. Yes. Which was really crazy in my opinion since hardly anyone's on campus. I was driving in today. There was no traffic. There's usually traffic at this time. The white lot, the black, sorry if you're listening. There's a huge parking lot that's usually filled with cars. No one's there. So I'm wondering, I know they have to pay for stuff, but there are definitely people who are getting paid way too much when our students are suffering. And especially when things are behind the screen, you don't see your students' faces all the time. So when they're coming into class half dead and they're getting depressed, as you said before, they're jobless and they're just trying to make it. And they raise tuition. A lot of teachers are assigning more homework. I'm talking to you, professors, you listen and you go listen, assigning more work than you would in person classes. And it's making people miserable. And I think as a college who prides themselves in inclusivity, they should definitely be taking this into account. I agree with you. Yeah. And I definitely resonate with that part of, you know, tuition, taking a toll on my mental health, because I'll be in class, and it'll be November 12, or the 12th of a month. And that's when my installments are due. And all I can think about is how am I going to pay for this? Will I have the
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money or I can take out a loan or maybe get it out of my credit card? And I just can't focus in class.
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Exactly.
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Just trying to figure out how I'm going to pay for my next installment.
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And I think that's something that, you know, the institution should really look at. Right. Oh, if you're having mental health problems, you know, go to CAPS, which is actually a really great resource if you guys are available or have opportunity to take advantage of it, go to CAPS. So they always push the counseling and psychology services or CAPS for people to and take advantage of therapy on campus that is a part of our tuition. But if you aren't able to pay your tuition, you can't go. And they don't really talk about that. And if you are able to go to CAPS, go to CAPS. But I know for me, I'm like, okay, listen. And then I can't take advantage of those programs because of this block on my financial aid, which is like, so what we're looking at right now is they need to take into account our feelings of students, take away late fees, and get their financial department together. I know a lot of people are over there working hard, but there's definitely something that can be done about what's going on over there. Absolutely. Anything else you want to add about UNLV? No, yeah, I definitely agree that they could help us out more, and they could take our feelings into account, even though they're an institution and it's not really convenient for them to really screen all of us and see where we're at, how we're doing, although it would be ideal.
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Right.
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Yeah, they should definitely take away the late fees. We're still, we're trying. We're trying to make that payment because we know that our professors have to be paid.
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Our professors have to be paid.
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Our staff has to be paid. So another thing is we're still paying for the gym, which is closed. We're still paying for parking, even if we're only on campus for class or just picking something up and you can get a ticket if you park in the wrong area or you park without a parking pass and they still charge you for that. I remember getting my first ticket when I came here $20, ruined my whole week. That's why I had my sister drop me off today. I wasn't going to have to pay no ticket. I didn't want to pay a parking pass because really I'm only here for two, three days. So that's also a scam. So UNLV, if you're listening, stop scamming your students. You're gonna listen to me. I know, I always get so irritated when I see the breakdown of all my charges. And I think 50% is my tuition and the technology fees and everything actually going to what I actually use. And then the 15 other charges are, you know, the table fees, the air fees, they charge you for the oxygen you breathe almost, what my mom says. And you have me over here trying to utilize all the things. I don't utilize the gym. Right. I only stepped in there for like a vaccine. Yeah. Okay. Which is, which I understand. The money has to come from somewhere. But there, I wish that they would, I don't know, it sounds unfair. I wish that they would actually charge you for the services that you are using. Right. You can sign up for specific things. I like that. And plus the gym is already built. They already paid for the equipment. So I'm like, if you're I don't know what we're still getting paying. Right. Like, I know we're paying for the workers, student workers who work there. Right. Shout out to y'all. Y'all be working hard. I'm not sure what else. The light, the water bill. I'm like, OK, I get that. But if we have thousands and thousands of students and we're all paying for the gym, where's the money going? Right. That makes sense. We all had our tuition raised. Where's the money going? Exactly. Why are you charging late fees? Where's the late fee money going? Is it going back into the students? You know, I'm onto you. I'm onto you. So I'd like to remind you that you're listening to You Gon' Listen at 91.5 KUNV. I'm Karen Jean-Charles with my lovely guest Andrea Ibarra and we're talking about capitalism. Let's talk about thrifting and sustainable fashion. Have you thrifted before? Is that your thing? Yes, of course. Well, I haven't done it on a large scale. My version of thrifting is going through my mom's closet and wearing all her things that she would wear when she was my age. They're my favorite things. Right. And it's just, it's my style. And I know that I'm, I know that I'm doing a good thing by not paying these fast fashion companies because, don't get me wrong, may have cute things, but you can also go to a thrift shop and find something that's just as cute for just a fraction of the cost perhaps. And you can wear it a lot of times. Most of the things are even better quality. Right. I mean, like there's some really good gems at thrift stores that they'd be putting in the back. Yes. And they're like, oh, Calvin Klein. Like, OK, the thing is, you don't even need a label to look good. There are definitely ways that you can put an outfit together without a label. People are here like, no, I need the Gucci. I need the product. I'm like, OK, girl, like you don't need all that. We can just scale it back for and plus it saves the environment. Yes. Fast fashion and all those textiles and dyes and all that is really killing our environment. So. Yes, completely. Right. So we can go thrift, go through our mom's closet. My mom's the queen of turtlenecks. She is the queen of mom jeans. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go through there and I'm about to wear your clothes. And she's like, where's my jeans? In my closet, thank you. Yeah, and with all these, you know, designer brands and everything, they're pushed on us by influencers and people who get paid to push that on you and they get their coin, but at whose expense? At the consumer's expense. They push this mentality onto you that, well, they don't push it, but they- It's in your face. Yes, it's not like, oh, you have to buy Gucci in order to be cool. They do it subtly, they plant that seed into your mind. So that you're subconsciously in the back of your head, you just want all of that. It's this whole product place like product. It's just basic psychology. You know, if you see your favorite youtuber wearing a cute Prada skirt or something like that. Prada skirt? I don't know. Prada bag and you go oh well she looks really good so if I go and waste 3k on a bag then I'm gonna look just as good as her. Society kind of just teaches you that you need to spend money in order to look and feel good, which is not the case. You can definitely look good on a budget, you can feel good on a budget. We see with skincare brands,
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you have what, $50 moisturizer,
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when you can get $5 moisturizer that's just as good, and it'll do great things to your skin. There's this misconception that you have to spend a lot of money in order to live a good life, which is not the case. So, that's been You Don't Listen. I'd like to thank Andrea for coming on the show and talking about capitalism with me. I really appreciate it. Where can we find you at, Andrea? No, yeah, thank you for having me I really appreciate this and yeah you can find me on Instagram my username is Andrea Viene that's A N D R E K V I A N E Y Y. And you can find me Karen your host at on at K.E.R.E.N.J.C. Which is Karen J.C. with a dot after the first letter. Thanks for tuning in. I'm your host, Karen Jean Charles. I'll be back next week with another episode of You Don't Listen. ♪ In that Florida water ♪
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♪ Not even in that Florida water ♪ ♪ Not even in that Florida water ♪
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♪ In that Florida water ♪
Transcribed with Cockatoo