How the “Business of Poverty” Really Works (And How You Can Help Me Expose It)
From 1970s Puerto Rican revolutionary to “poverty pimp” insider, now exposing how the business of poverty really works — and asking a new generation to help keep the truth alive.
Why your support matters
I’m a retired, disabled U.S. Army veteran on a fixed Social Security income, working with osteoarthritis and newly diagnosed osteoporosis. Some days my body simply won’t let me work the way my mind still wants to, but I refuse to walk away from exposing the “business of poverty” and the people profiting from it.
Back in the 1970s, I was a Puerto Rican revolutionary, fighting from the inside of the struggle. Over time, as I rose to the top of a prominent organization, I crossed a line and became what I now call a poverty pimp—someone who benefits from the very suffering they claim to be fighting. That’s the truth I owe especially to Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z: you are inheriting systems built by people like me at our best and at our worst, and you deserve to see exactly how the game is played so you don’t repeat our mistakes.
Over the past months, you’ve been getting my investigations from The Vault Investigates for free. There are now 187 of you on this list, reading along as I dig into how the “business of poverty” really works. So far, only one reader has been able to step up with a $50 contribution, which I am deeply grateful for—but it isn’t enough to keep this going long‑term on a fixed disability and Social Security income.
This note is not about guilting anyone. It’s about being honest with you: if you want these investigations to keep coming, a small circle of you will need to help carry the financial weight so the rest can keep reading for free. That’s why I’ve created a simple $5/month Vault Support Circle on Ko‑fi—one tier,
no complicated perks, just support that lets me keep doing the work and putting it in front of the people who need it most.
Read the new investigation