It’s Time For Poor Folks News Network
by Charles Karel Bouley II
A May 1, 2026 headline from ABC News read “Americans are Increasingly Bleak About Their Own Finances” and it is the epitome of everything that’s wrong with today’s news; and that includes my compadres in liberal talk and in the Democratic aisles of any state house or Congress.
Because that’s not news to anyone I know. It’s not news to me, certainly, or anyone that makes under $100k to $150k a year. We live it every day. And we’re aging, and we’re terrified. As of this writing only 2.5% to 4.7% of Americans over 50 have one million in retirement accounts and even when you get to retirees it only jumps to 3.2%. And one million is only $100k a year for 10 years or $50k a year for 20.
We all know Social Security isn’t going to survive 20 or 30 more years. And we know we should save.
But how, exactly. Right now, in my city of Las Vegas, NV, regular cash price for gas at the cheapest station is $4.65 a gallon, $5.55 at Shell, Mobile and others. 12 gallons is going to cost you somewhere around $60.
I just went to Sam’s Club, and got 12 items: Dawn, maple syrup, soy sauce, bok choy, baby broccoli, crackers, Belvita biscuits (for tea), Italian Seasoning, Mrs. Dash, bananas, blackberries and had the pleasure of paying $107 for $50 worth of stuff.
My HOA has gone up 2x because of insurance costs, my condo has lost $50k over the last two years and the insurance on my 2001 Lexus RX 300 with 212,000 miles has gone up so I pay more for it in one year than the actual car is worth.
I’m a vegan, because it’s the right thing to do for the planet, and the prices of fruits, vegetables and non-meat proteins are through the roof because of fertilizer prices across the globe.
And after speaking with a few friends, I am not alone.
One friend is now in his mid-50s, works full time, has a tiny 401(k) and no other retirement; he’s a renter, no investments or investment property. Even if he works another 10 years his 401(k) won’t even be nearly enough to retire, just enough for two years. And he’s worried in 10 years Social Security will be gone. He wants to move to a more affordable country so he doesn’t have to worry so much. Another friend is a realtor and he worries about the market volatility right now, rising interest rates instead of lower, the massive amount of inventory out there right now and people feeling good enough financially to actually buy a home.
And the media? The media acts like all of this is news. Why? Because each and every news caster, presenter, guest are, for the most part, rich. Maybe not multi-million dollar rich, but $200k a year or more rich.
I’m living the more than two months happens with no or decreased income, I’ll have to borrow, use credit cards, or go in to major debt kind of life. I’m lucky, I own all but $45k of my condo (a HELOC that was needed for new air conditioning, water heater, you know, life). And I drive 25 year old car and a Piaggio MP3 500 scooter that gets 70mpg.
So I don’t need to be told how unpredictable and frightening the American economy is right now. Oh, you can blame me, go ahead. I had jobs that paid over $100k in radio. But not many, and not for long, mostly because I’m gay and in the 90s and 2000s stations paid me the minimum they could for that reason. I was reminded, constantly, by corporate bosses at ABC/KGO San Francisco 810 radio that there were separate rules for me, just as women today still face those same rules; do the same work, for less pay.
My late partner had HIV, we didn’t save, we spent on his meds, and on life. He died at 34 and I don’t regret one trip, one extravagance as they would not have made a lot of difference in the long run. I have a pension from my union, a small one, and Social Security so I’ll have something; at 63 one thinks about that a lot.
So it’s time for the Poor Folks News Network; news of, for and by people that make under $100k a year. Just like I feel “The Real Housewives” should be about moms with kids, school, work, husbands or other wives, bills, budgeting and … real life … instead of pampered women in various states of surgery, PFNN reporters would concentrate on real stories, about real people, not run by corporations. And each presenter would make under $100k a year.
Because then they’d get it. Headlines wouldn’t be condescending. Questions to the powers-that-be wouldn’t be so obtuse, they’d be real. Like, “When do you plan on stopping this war that you started, the war your oil friends are making $30m an hour in windfall profits to the tune of $23b in one month and that total reaching $234b over a year in, but is causing us to struggle and slip backwards economically, Mr. President?”
Or, “When do you plan to call the CEOs of the seven major companies that control all of our food in the USA in to discuss their record breaking profits as they charge enormous prices for food, you know, Nestle, PepsiCo, Coca Cola, Unilever, Kraft heinz, General Mills, Mars Inc., Speaker Johnson?”
Of course, there’s thousands more questions we all want to know, like how can you afford $65b for a war of choice so far, but say we can’t afford the Snap program when that’s the budget for it for one year or why are health care CEOs and shareholders making so much money (about $70b in profit) when so many of us can’t even afford procedures WITH insurance?
We need reporters that will ask real questions because they are living real lives, our lives, the lives of millions and millions.
Even here in my city of Las Vegas, NV, the entire town has become for the upper-income or rich, not the every-person looking for cheap fun, fab food and great affordable shows. Now, I’d love to see Cyndi Lauper this week, but don’t have $300 or more for one ticket. I would have loved to see Adele, but again, $10,000 down front or $500 in the back…
So many people understand where I’m at, because they are there with me: uncertain about our financial futures, unprepared to retire and even if we have some access to resources, most are uncertain or unsure about what to do with it, or if it will even be worth anything in five years. If the world starts trading oil in the Euro or Yen, we’re cooked. $1m becomes $10k. And then most of us are done. And UAE just left OPEC, so…
So spare me the headlines about how people are reacting to the economy; we’re living it. And it’s time we find a new source of news that gets it. Maybe I’ll change my entire podcast to just be poor folks news. Who am I kidding. It already is.
