Evergreen Perspective

Why are so many Americans juggling multiple jobs just to survive? In this episode of Evergreen Perspective, host Ben Christly digs deep into the realities behind the rise of the gig economy, side hustles, and self-employment and asks the hard question: Is the American Dream still achievable?

We explore: 

Why a 9–5 paycheck no longer covers the basics
How billion-dollar corporations exploit gig labor while posting record profits

The risks faced by freelancers and solo entrepreneurs

How wage stagnation and corporate greed are driving inequality

What Washington State is doi...

Student Debt in America: Why Are We Paying for Education Forever?
Why is an entire generation still paying for college decades later?

In this episode of Evergreen Perspective, We break down the history of student debt in America, how we got here, why it’s gotten so out of control, and what it says about our national priorities.

We dig into:

The origins of the student loan system and its broken promises

How Ronald Reagan helped shift education from a public good to a personal burden

Why college us...

In this episode of Evergreen Perspective -  Behind the Credit Curtain: Debt, Discrimination, and the Fight for Fairness -  host Ben Christly pulls back the curtain on the American credit system, revealing the hidden history, the rigged rules, and the real-world impact on millions of people’s lives.

Why does avoiding debt hurt your credit score?
Why can a single hard inquiry drop your number?
Why are entire communities locked out of financial opportunity before they even begin?

We trace the system’s roots from biased, handwritten credit files in the 1900s… to the crea...

In Part 2 of Why Are We Broke? | Part 2: Housing, Inflation, and the Price of Survival, we dives into the everyday costs that make life unaffordable, even for Americans working full-time.

We move beyond wages and into the real, grinding pressure of trying to afford housing, groceries, gas, healthcare, and childcare in today’s economy.

We unpack:

Why rent and home prices exploded after COVID  and why they’re staying high

How grocery chains and big corporations used inflation as an excuse to raise prices and pad profits (“greedflation”)

How Wall Stre...

In Part 1 of “Why Are We Broke?”, we break down the real reasons why so many Americans  even those working full-time  are living paycheck to paycheck.

This isn’t about laziness. It’s not about bad budgeting.
 It’s about a system that stopped rewarding work  and started hoarding wealth at the top.

From the history of the federal minimum wage to the rise of corporate profiteering, this episode walks through how the rules were rewritten over the last 40 years to benefit billionaires, freeze wages, and blame the working class for struggling.

We’ll talk abo...

Discussing Wealth Psychology in today's Evergreen Perspective: Sapling Edition!
 
What Can We Do?
It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of billionaire dominance, but history shows that real change happens when we demand accountability. From labor unions to tax reform to campaign finance transparency, there are concrete steps we can take to challenge the wealth gap and level the playing field.
Get Involved!
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For much of the 20th century, American manufacturing was the engine of the middle class. Union jobs, pensions, and paychecks you could build a life on. But over time through trade deals, offshoring, automation, and corporate greed , that engine was dismantled.

In this episode of Evergreen Perspective, we take a hard look at how it happened. From the golden age of industry to the quiet collapse of factory towns like Canton, North Carolina, we unpack the real reasons American manufacturing disappeared—and whether it can ever truly come back.

We break down:

The hi...

What does freedom really mean in America today?

In this episode of Evergreen Perspective, we dig deep into the complicated, often contradictory history of freedom in the United States: from its selective beginnings at the founding, to the way politicians, billionaires, and media have weaponized the word for their own gain.

We’ll explore how different political sides frame freedom today, the rise of alternative facts, the devastating impact of disinformation, and why both major parties are guilty of manipulating outrage and division. We’ll talk about how corporate greed, religious overreach, and cultural fear-mongering are...

When the uniform comes off, the mission doesn’t end.

In this episode of Evergreen Perspective, host Ben Christly, Navy veteran, flight nurse, and former nurse care manager at the VA dives into the real-life challenges veterans face after service. From navigating a broken VA system to battling trauma, addiction, and housing instability, this episode pulls back the curtain on what "supporting our troops" really means.

We trace the history of how America has treated its veterans, from Revolutionary War pension promises to modern-day staffing cuts under the Trump administration. You’ll hear the story of “...

What happens when one of the most important promises we’ve made as a country, the promise of a secure retirement, starts to unravel?

In this episode of Evergreen Perspective, we’re diving deep into the past, present, and future of Social Security: the program that provides stability for over 70 million Americans, including retirees, people with disabilities, and children who’ve lost a parent.

We’ll explore how Social Security began as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal during the Great Depression  and how it was born out of a time when growing old often m...

In this Sapling Edition of Evergreen Perspective, we take a sharp, clear-eyed look at how the right to vote is being restricted in 2025, and why it matters more than ever.

We break down the history of voting in America, the real impact of modern voter suppression, and expose the truth behind the SAVE Act, legislation that claims to protect elections but could silence millions of eligible voters, especially women, minorities, and low-income Americans.

We also highlight the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and why protecting access to the ballot box is not a...

In this episode of Evergreen Perspective, we take a hard look at Medicare, where it came from, what it was meant to do, and why it’s under threat today. 
We walk through the origins of the program, the political battles that shaped it, and how the private insurance industry continues to chip away at a system designed to protect working Americans in their most vulnerable years.
From the rising costs facing seniors to the influence of billion-dollar corporations and the ultra-wealthy, this episode is about more than policy. It’s about priorities. About who gets care, who g...

In this episode of Evergreen Perspective, we explore the truth about Medicaid, what it is, who it helps, and why it matters to every single American, whether you use it or not. Through personal stories, historical context, and current policy battles, we reveal how Medicaid has become a vital lifeline for millions of working-class families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities.

We walk through what healthcare looked like before Medicaid existed and how the program came to be. We examine how it’s managed today, who qualifies, and why some states have chosen to expand coverage while ot...

Welcome to Evergreen Perspective, a podcast that takes a thoughtful, honest look at the systems shaping our lives and communities. In this episode, we dive deep into the American prison system - from its colonial roots to the rise of private prisons, and from sentencing disparities to the real human impact of mass incarceration.
We explore the harsh realities faced by non-violent offenders still serving time for cannabis-related crimes, the financial and ethical costs of privatized incarceration, and the systemic corruption that continues to plague our justice system. Through real stories like that of Edwin Rubis, we shed...

Welcome to Evergreen Perspective, a podcast that takes a thoughtful, honest look at the systems shaping our lives and communities. In this episode, we dive deep into the American prison system - from its colonial roots to the rise of private prisons, and from sentencing disparities to the real human impact of mass incarceration.
We explore the harsh realities faced by non-violent offenders still serving time for cannabis-related crimes, the financial and ethical costs of privatized incarceration, and the systemic corruption that continues to plague our justice system. Through real stories like that of Edwin Rubis, we shed...

Tariffs are more than just a policy debate. They have real consequences for industries, businesses, and families. In this episode of Evergreen Perspective, we take a deep dive into how tariffs impact Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, focusing on the timber industry and its ripple effects on the local economy.

We start with the journey of a single piece of lumber, following it from the forest to the marketplace, revealing how tariffs drive up costs at every stage. We’ll hear from a local construction company struggling with higher material expenses and a couple facing the reality of r...

Welcome to the very first episode of Evergreen Perspective, where we break down complex economic and political issues in a way that's engaging, factual, and rooted in real-world impact. I’m Ben Christly, and today, we’re diving deep into a topic that affects all of us, whether we realize it or not: billionaires, their outsized influence, and why so many people defend them.
In this premiere episode, we’ll explore:

-  The rise of extreme wealth inequality and how today’s billionaires compare to historical industrial tycoons like Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Vanderbilt.

- The psych...