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The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart · 3 min · Oct 21, 2026

Why El-Sayed sees poverty as a product of economic choices

Abdul El-Sayed argues that U.S. poverty reflects economic choices, not a temporary affordability crisis. He cites Detroit communities with $14,000 median incomes and schools he says look as they did 50 years ago.

Abdul El-Sayed

Abdul El-Sayed is a Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan.

Rebuilt Detroit’s Health Department, restructured Wayne County’s health agency, and authored Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide.

About this segment

Abdul El-Sayed argues that U.S. poverty reflects economic choices, not a temporary affordability crisis. He cites Detroit communities with $14,000 median incomes and schools he says look as they did 50 years ago.

From “Abdul El-Sayed’s Progressive Policy Prescription | The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart”, Oct 21, 2026. Watch the full episode

“I say, well, it's not a crisis. It's the inevitable result of a system that is rigged towards these outcomes.”
Abdul El-Sayedat 27:11 · The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart27:11

Takeaways

  1. He says U.S. poverty is built into how the economy works.
  2. He cites Detroit communities with $14,000 median incomes.
  3. He argues policy favors second billions over first earnings.

In this episode

Full episode
  1. 28:14Why El-Sayed says attack ads reshaped his primary4:22
  2. 32:13Why El-Sayed ties foreign aid to Michigan's local needs5:55
  3. 21:37How El-Sayed says his family shaped his public-service purposePro pick 3:54
  4. 5:51What El-Sayed hears voters say about care and AI4:08
  5. 15:05Why El-Sayed shifted from medicine to public health2:38

  6. 25:49Why El-Sayed sees poverty as a product of economic choices2:43

  7. 58:32Why El-Sayed says reporters hear different concerns than voters4:29Up next
  8. 1:03:50El-Sayed says his campaign may face record spending3:42

Transcript

Transcribed by machine (Whisper) from the episode’s audio, so a word may be off here and there.

  1. 26:01

    the surprising, because I think people in other, you know, they always talk about, well, there's the third world and then there's America and not understanding that in America, in the way that we have it, there are millions and millions of people suffering through the same kinds of economic deprivation and the same kind of difficulties that those in these other countries are feeling like, well, that, that would never happen in America. Was that surprising to your family to see that? I think for my dad, definitely, you know, my dad immigrates here, he goes to Detroit to Wayne state and his dad sold vegetables in a fish market. So he never trusted the, you know, the stuff at Kroger and he would go, we have this amazing outdoor market called the Eastern market.

  2. 26:43

    So we would go to the Eastern market and it was, it was an eyeopening experience for him because immediately he comes to america and is struck by american poverty in you know like like minutes walk from the eastern market you have a deep amount of poverty and i'll just say this the poverty that we have in america that afflicts predominantly black folk in this country and rural folk in this country is categorically worse because if you think about it happens in a context in which we assume it doesn't exist or the broader public doesn't talk about it and it also doesn't have to exist. When they talk about, it's one thing I always say, they say there's an affordability crisis. I say, well, it's not a crisis. It's the inevitable result of a system that is rigged towards these outcomes. There is a certain underclass that our system requires to function

  3. 27:36

    in the manner that it functions. This is the end result of it. This is exactly the choice. When we make a choice where an economy is more interested in making it easier for a billionaire to make a second billion than anybody out there to make their first hundred thousand. Right. This is what happens. First 10,000, first 5,000. I mean, look, you can go to communities in Detroit. Median income is $14,000 a year. Right.

  4. 28:00

    And their schools look like they did 50 years ago. And meanwhile, we're out here, right, creating all these tax gaps, right, the one big ugly bills, cutting health care for those folks, while it's creating tax loopholes for the richest people to make a second billion under the argument that somehow this is good for our economy. It's insane. How many billions do we spend buying bombs and tanks for other people's countries that