Mobile Homes: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

[@novembermiss]

Saddest moment was the elderly resident peering through her window and asking why the bloodsuckers were touring the park. And hearing her be lied to ("we're just here to learn about mobile homes!")

[@marjar.5978]

That broke my heart 😭

[@frenchfriedrenaissancebaby6140]

@@CanItAlready with any justice, they'll sink all their money into those scam classes, go broke and end up in a trailer park themselves. It's what they deserve.

[@TentinQuarantino_]

That lady could be my mom. Seriously, her exact situation is the worst-case one Oliver described- an aging mobile home on a rented lot, with the owner on a fixed income and no savings. She can’t move. She can’t negotiate. And she refuses to open her eyes to what will inevitably happen. It just makes me sick.

[@dottyjyoung]

This should be illegal, plain & simple.

[@johnpliskin8759]

@ganymedeIV4 wtf does that mean?

[@GuayaKiLL28]

It wasn't until recently that I've truly come to realize my parents were right when they said, " In this country, it's very expensive to be poor."

[@ericmollison2760]

This reminds me of something I've read in a Terry Pratchett book from the Discworld Series. Sam Vimes Economics. It's probably an obscure reference, but basically people ultimately spend more for necessities if they don't have a lot of money to begin with. Because they buy cheaper things that have to be replaced frequently. That was the example in the book and in the real world there are things like installments and apr financing, and of course mortgage, rent, and student loan interest. And poverty makes people think about surviving today and ignoring tomorrow because you don't have time for that. Overwork and stress can affect your health which will further effect your finances. It's a weird paradox, but being poor is expensive.

[@HeadCannonPrime]

This is 100% true. My family went from upper class to middle class to poor then back to middle class in 4 generations. My great grandparents lived in a honest to god castle. My older brother received reduced price lunches when he was a kid. "It is very expensive to be poor" is a mantra that we all learned growing up. When you are poor you have bad credit. When you have bad credit you pay more interest. When you pay more interest you can't buy quality products OR you have to pick from worse options and end up paying more for them. You have to live in worse areas, go to worse schools. Live in worse areas you get stuff stolen or damaged. etc. Everything cycles downwards unless you can break out, and it is FKing HARD when EVERYTHING seems to be pulling you down.

[@ericmollison2760]

@@HeadCannonPrime I was just philosophizing, but I have no personal experience with poverty. But I've met people who made me think poverty really sucks.

[@Robstafarian]

Equity is the only way out of poverty, and the people who hold the equity know it.

[@luismercado5646]

capitalism at its best

[@GPosner8]

While this topic seems random, kudos to John and his team for bringing to light a very real and tragic story that would never make it into any mainstream program.

[@jessetorres8738]

My personal favorite in this category was his Kidney Dialysis episode which even he referenced was something that no 1 going in would care about yet I loved it.

[@rant9881]

Except it's not random. Millions of people live in mobile homes.

[@MelindaGreen]

It's crossed my mind that a mobile home might be an option for me, so I'm very grateful that John highlighted the important issues involving land ownership. He may have helped me dodge a bullet with this video.

[@crackedcoco]

Well just imagine he says Prefab homes instead. Mobile Homes were the start of that. Single wide, Double Wide, Then build that 2 stories high. If you wanted to code switch to yuppie talk you might say these are container homes.

[@josh0g]

You could say that about a lot of Last Week tonight episodes.

[@holenawall954]

I got out of a mobile home park just in time after the original owner died. It was donated to a church who sold it to investors. The lot rent has doubled, and people can't afford to move. Thank you, John Oliver for bringing this issue to people's attention. Unfortunately, the only people who can do anything about it don't care. To bad we can't get politicians who care about the people, because ordinary people can't buy politicians. Big business can.

[@1ROCUSA]

I know it's too late but ordinary people can buy. Too bad the church didn't see the potential in you all to buy the community. It's been happening for 40 years! kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKXdgWOkbZKSrZo

[@RobertWilkinsonJKekMaloy]

KZbin epsteined a comment off to gitmo.

[@gibsonrickenbacker6317]

Those churches helping people again I see 🙄

[@skillethead15]

Churches don’t pay taxes but they can get a mobile home park donated to them…. What kind of nonsense is that?

[@mic4902]

The church, how perfect. God's Will, right? 😂

[@billbill6094]

Is it just me or is John becoming more ruthless in his pieces? Like a man on a mission to expose all the shady dealings that conveniently don't make the news.

[@arditrisilia9658]

I agree, you can sense he's more focused and sincere to get the message across and less about making you laugh in this segment. I like it, painting these greedy assholes as the scum they are.

[@batangclanchest6615]

he was born ruthless, its just like wine, he keeps getting better

[@heatherrockwell9012]

He does seem like that, for example last week's WWE piece and the Family Separation episode a while ago. I like it; they're still funny but they're more sincere sounding now.

[@yeetus9625]

He’s the king’s jester- he’s the only one speaking the truth, and makes jokes so the apathetic people will listen

[@HuevoDuro702]

Nah he smeared Jill Stein during the election of 2016

[@MagiconIce]

"...but recently some of the biggest investors have moved into this industry..." whenever you hear this sentence, you know, that it has worsened for the people.

[@DPowered2]

Yep and it will be a situation of "they can't do anything to stop us and if they can we will fix that"

[@filanfyretracker]

Of course big investors only care about making more money, They would sell their own family to Soylent Industries if such a thing actually existed and it would gain them 10% on their share values.

[@Hosev]

I worked in the sand and gravel business for awhile, and only left after my employer was bought out by a Wall Street investment firm. I know where that train stops.

[@kayeka4123]

@@filanfyretracker This comment shows you have no idea how stocks work. Obviously, they'd sell their families for 0.1% increase on their share values.

[@Vaprous]

Another industry that they've moved into is in recent decades has been the gaming industry as it is almost totally unregulated in the USA; results: reduced quality, dumbing down of the product for a more casual audience, gambling mechanisms, outright defrauding consumers, dubious sales tactics, terrible working conditions for those working in the industry, and of course, rising prices and increasingly more features being chopped out of base games and repackaged as DLC/paid content. Objectively a luxury industry sure; but one with actual effects on the youngest generations psychological condition and also on those working in the gaming industry.

[@jeb791]

All the worst parts of owning a home with the worst parts of renting a home

[@xfranczeskax]

Exactly! I don't get it!

[@solhsa]

@@xfranczeskax If you are in a situation where you can't get a "proper" loan, this may be the only option you have; it's possible you're a hostage even before you sign the papers.

[@xfranczeskax]

Yeah, but if you can't get a proper loan... don't get a loan? I know there's desperate situations and things are not that easy for everybody, but this is an industry with millions of people willingly getting scammed. If you can't afford a house, then make do with what you can afford. @@solhsa

[@Notmyday2009]

@@xfranczeskax Most of them do is called homeless people. They leave within there means. Which I can understand why so many prefer to take there chance that live homeless.

[@jessarose2288]

Exactly what it is. If anything breaks in there...your furnace for example it's completely on you to fix it yet you're paying rent...it really is bullshit. I had one for a few years...dumb as fuck. My lot rent alone was as much as a shitty apartment in my city so...the only reason I did it was because it was in the best school district.

[@EmmaBonn96]

I feel like buying mobile home lots and gifting them back to the renters is now on the list of things I’d do if I had an exorbitant amount of money

[@Nico-yb2tm]

That's really nice, but if the systemic issue isn't fixed, how long before it just reverts back to the way it was before you bought it? One generation? Two at most? By being unscrupulous a**holes they'll still have all the money and ll the power to take it back eventually :/

[@FransuToffi]

Good point, maybe they should buy out a private equity firm that’d take control of the park but then just treat the people living there like actual human beings!

[@daverahn1711]

@@FransuToffi same problem, you retire, your successors sell off the "so-so" performing investment, and a new group of A-Holes buy it... the issues with this country are deep. I believe the root cause is the availability of cheap credit.

[@needamuffin]

@@FransuToffi The better, and most likely cheaper, solution is to buy out ("lobby") enough politicians to sign into law that what these equity firms are doing is illegal. Get it codified so that it's done for good until someone comes along and pays politicians more to undo it, but that's a different, also utterly reprehensible problem.

[@Elenrai]

@@daverahn1711 If ones wealth can compound at a rate exceeding a loan+interest rate to buy a massive luxury yacht, or say, your net worth gets past 50 million USD; add a legal requirement for such individuals to either,1; actually spend their fortunes instead of enjoying compounding wealth and the production you have not truly done anything to earn a share in, especially if you look to the african continent and shipping and the people benefitting and you account for compounding wealth among the truly wealthy multi millionares with diverse portfolios...yeah, they are a massive drag on the economy, and frankly, the richer one gets, the worse it is, one guy I know of spent 3 million USD, with a net worth of a little above 50 million USD, that fucker literally makes more money per hour off a blue collar workers output than the worker creating the actual output, and that fella in paticular admitted to mostly just trying to avoid actually spending money... People live their entire lives on occasion, in truth only consuming and never producing anything, at best they provide a service of questionable value entirely sustained by subjective whims and not on objective market norms that can be at the very least have a defined value... There is a reason why youth unemployment is increasing worldwide, its laughable, I am just thankful I live in a nation sane enough to skin the rich and the middle class that the poor have a life equivalent to american lower middle class households

[@Alexcarb95]

I love when this show shines a light on issues that don't get much attention.

[@burf4963]

Absolutely! This one hits home for me because I live in a mobile home, but I like being aware of all the problems people are going through these days.

[@mrkrabs622]

@@burf4963 if the rent wasn't raised, the park would be torn down & redeveloped into the highest & best use. Which would you rather do, pay more in lot rent, or be homeless?

[@ash-qw6jf]

@@mrkrabs622 Did you even watch the video

[@mrkrabs622]

@@ash-qw6jf Yes, I watched the entire video. I'm extremely familiar with mobile home park investing. Re-read my comment. If the rent didn't go up, the park wouldn't exist.

[@pierrecurie]

Every time I read one of these titles I think "That doesn't sound so bad. What can go wrong?" Halfway through the show: despair *INTENSIFIES*

[@jovifcp]

it's a true testament to the quality of this show.

[@danaeunrine3316]

Junko Enoshima: Did someome say despair?!

[@Meh-qe4rw]

John Oliver is amazing at revealing the predatory behavior of companies and businessmen, we salute you!

[@K3NTCLARK]

Of course, he is to someone that has never had a job...

[@kasperdomagala4544]

@@K3NTCLARK you don't have to be a fucking chef to critique food.

[@MsGibbone]

Like Warren Buffett, that owns one of the biggest mobile homes comany

[@K3NTCLARK]

@@kasperdomagala4544 If you want to get paid and do it you do. lmao, Tard

[@deirdrecooke7993]

@@K3NTCLARK No. You don't. Plenty of professional critics out there who get paid to critique food and ARE NOT chefs. You're wrong and you're calling others names, as if they're stupid... Lol! Proud of your ignorance, aren't you?

[@SpiralDown2077]

I have been homeless, happens to orphans a lot. I am in a really good place in life now, mostly due to a handful of humans who truly just cared about me without expectations. This places me in a different peer group, surrounded by people who have never been hungry- judging others without context. “I have it, why don’t you?” -well, was it given to you? Did you start life with everything you needed and desired? Then don’t talk about what you don’t know. Thank you Mr. Oliver for shedding light on so many important issues that no one thinks about ❤️‍🔥 that skit was gold

[@eponymousIme]

Glad to hear you came out the other side and appreciate how hard it is for people who didn't inherit privileges.

[@perfectdawnn6714]

John Oliver can take any topic I’ve never cared about and make them extremely interesting.

[@jessetorres8738]

Would it be a better investment for me to rent or even try to buy 1 of those "tiny homes" that are less than 800 square feet rather than a normal size house, an apartment in the city, or now even 1 of these mobile homes? I'm done with college and want to move out, but it seems I can't afford anywhere decent and cheap, and it seems big businesses/corporations would want to take whatever money I make from 2 part time jobs then toss me out if I no longer can do so.

[@CharlieZColt]

I think this is an important topic because many poor Americans live in mobile homes

[@BitcoinAndChess]

@@jessetorres8738 The value is on the LAND, not the home. Get land which is zoned correctly before you build on it.

[@edwinfelix9310]

There's big money into it especially the trailer parks. Just moving them can really add up into the thousands. My uncle owns a mobile home moving company.

[@TheNefastor]

@Chris_Gullett really ? So you're saying what we've just watched isn't the truth ? Can you point to one specific innacuracy ?

[@valeon7303]

If you have to describe your tenants as “hostage” you have a few... problems.

[@FroggyCrimes]

All tenants are hostages.

[@daddius]

The “strong” will always operate this way. The warrior caste will do its masters bidding for the scraps left over. This has been the trajectory of most of the history of “civilization”. Nothing really civil when you think about it.

[@tgdelta]

If you describe them as hostages voluntarily, you have even more

[@luizmatthew1019]

Most tenants can easily leave if they want. These can't really without losing the hous- *ahem*, mobile home, they own @@FroggyCrimes

[@Simon-fj2wn]

no, then you're rich

[@istdochallesegal3427]

Love that the "you bought a house" lady pulled up in an S-class Benz

[@ItsThatKidGreg]

Damn dude, that's a sharp eye. You can't even see the model number on the trunk!

[@JohnJohnson-dc9yv]

@@snarkylive That's someone who doesn't even drive their own car in America.

[@ItsThatKidGreg]

@ganymedeIV4 Nah OP was right. I have an 85" 500 SEL and the inside of the driver side door looks just like the one in the video. Even if it's not the same year, that chassis style was ran for all the S class models released in the 80's

[@istdochallesegal3427]

@@ItsThatKidGreg thanks, though I'll admit to a couple of rewinds after that first "wait, wasn't that a big Benz?" The rear window shape and the "vent window" in the rear door are pretty distinctive too.

[@jamesmaness6308]

Yep, we have a Clayton Home Distributor here in my hometown. In the last 5 years, prices have almost doubled, and the quality has dropped, significantly. It's truly sad, because mobile homes have been the only option for poor people, and some middle class folks, to have decent housing. I directly blame Buffett's greed, and indifference, to this trend.

[@jojijojo3566]

This!!! I absolutely agree, I don’t see this opinion anywhere and whenever I’ve voiced it I get called “classist” even though I am poor and live in one!?!??!

[@junnatha]

Buffet is just the product of this system. Couldn't education genuinely make people care for another. The teachers and parents to genuinely create that care and goodwill within little humans. There r ppl who give to others from their necessities. Here are people who have such surplus, but what do they do with that. Use it to make far more surplus.

[@RichardX1]

When I was a preschooler my family lived in an Oakwood that we moved at least twice in less than two years. I guess mobile homes aren't what they were 40 years ago...

[@Maddy_B]

I recently watched video touring a double wide and it was $400,000! 😮

[@LegDayLas]

If you can’t afford housing don’t buy a budget home… rent. You can get a place just as crappy for the same price. It’s not like they even have the argument for “investing” because it is a depreciating asset that they STILL need to pay rent on.

[@richard5X5]

The shampoo joke was the most relatable thing ever said on the show.

[@Kiku91]

richard5X5 same with body wash, I’ll just drop the mostly empty bottle in the bath as the water rises and viola!

[@novembermiss]

Who among us has not done this, either with shampoo, body wash or dishwashing liquid?

[@shooglechic]

"Say it again MOTHERFU%€°¥•!!" That healed my spirit for this Monday.

[@f0ry0u81]

Amen!

[@thefacebiters]

Right? Ahhh, good times, good times.

[@MinLee2]

Came here to comment on that final line. You said it better that I could.

[@muchomango11]

Same

[@looseygoosey1349]

You can course on the internet

[@MsTuliplady]

John Oliver + Team, you are a national treasure.

[@Glorious_Kim_Jong_Un]

He's European, not American.

[@MsTuliplady]

@@Glorious_Kim_Jong_Un doesn't make his contribution to inform the American public any less important

[@carabiner7999]

@@MsTuliplady I wish he could run this country.

[@ittibittinurse]

@@MsTuliplady yes it does.

[@ittibittinurse]

@@carabiner7999 what a joke.

[@ketahodgson8637]

Thank you, John and team. A year ago today I was one of the suckers who bought a mobile home. Worse, I bought an old one that needed a lot more than just the cosmetic work I was expecting. I may live to regret it but, so far, I'm happy that I sold my condo in a city I didn't like and bought this place in a nice park where I have an amazing backyard in a city I love.

[@arthasmenethil4672]

As an Alaskan, I can confirm the crab king and his moose parliament reigns with an iron claw.

[@VV-ig1po]

Lol

[@alexanderwolf1984]

Wasn't the power of King Crab not reigned in by the Shrimp Pact after the battle of Kenai River?

[@blehhleb]

But a velvet antler.

[@nimaelos3561]

Ahhhh. I love this comment section :)

[@lelandshennett]

Arthas Menethil hi fellow Alaskan!

[@JarrodBaniqued]

D’Arcy and Lauren were perfectly cast!

[@jakelover1731]

I usually don't like the ending bits because they always feel a bit tacked on and like the weakest part of the episode, but this was gold.

[@ssupernovae]

Isn't one of them from The Good Place?

[@kyleedwards6026]

@@jakelover1731 umm mr nutter butter was god tier comedy

[@IanSharpeCork]

@@ssupernovae Janet - (Darcy C'arden) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Arcy_Carden

[@VoidwalkerUwU]

@@ssupernovae its janet!

[@joywaves439]

"And if you didn't relate to that joke, you haven't suffered a single day in your life." 😂😂 The things John Oliver makes you realize! 🙈

[@stonecat676]

That part about the HMU attendees "studying mobile home parks" is actually terrifying. It's like a Black Mirror episode.

[@mitkitty]

That was unfortunately relatable, haha

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

I've had to do that with dish detergent. Or, use shampoo as dish detergent.

[@Nrdyco]

I related to that joke... ive done it to shampoo, body wash, dish washing soap, and laundry soap..

[@DarthBil1]

That moment when you realize that you are poor enough to need to do this, but to stupid to have ever thought of it. Edit: I'm not calling anyone stupid; I was talking about myself.

[@MollieRalston]

Companies and corporations are ruining literally everything.

[@glowilk5377]

And guess their political affiliation

[@MollieRalston]

@@glowilk5377 publicly or privately ? I think they give money to whoever benefits them the most. It doesn't matter who they pander to for publicity , they give money to whoever can give them the most breaks.

[@hew195050]

Our capitalistic government breeds greedy corporations. They are all in bed.

[@hew195050]

@@glowilk5377 no no, both sides. Don’t be fooled.

[@junnatha]

The animalistic greed and callous selfishness of humans. Could these people actually have grown in family and school where love and care and humanity were real values?

[@johnchessant3012]

I love that John's show informs me of topics I wouldn't ever have considered otherwise. There are so many things wrong in this world, but we can only solve them if we know about them. Thanks, John, and keep it up!

[@donnamaco1]

John Chessant, Only if we know about it can we fix the problem. 10 thumbs up.

[@peace4myheart]

All you need to know is greed is what's wrong with the world

[@jackradzelovage6961]

hes informative but its also very one sided. hes left winged so he only gives the guilt trip piece to coerce emotions from people, which hes totally allowed to do and thats his choice. but make sure you are aware of and understand both sides of an issue before you take action on it. just good advice in general

[@donnamaco1]

@@jackradzelovage6961 Yes, when wealthy corporations use and manipulate the system to steal your tin can home, remember the other side of the argument. lol. What kind of parents raise their kids with scruples like this?

[@lajohnson1967]

Jack Radzelovage-So what’s the “other side” of basically fleecing low income people?

[@visceratrocar]

Best ad parody yet. They even used the outdated camera blur effect. Ku-dos.

[@VS666]

seriously, i thought it was real until she mentioned the land thing haha

[@o76923]

If memory serves its more related to the color pallet and frame rate than blur. It's something to do with Kodak owning most of the chemical companies that dealt with film back then but I don't terribly remember the details.

[@fedebenavides]

is that Janet from the good place?

[@grannyajra]

@@fedebenavides Yes, that's the great D'Arcy Carden!

[@slixx2256]

I just really like how he is always shedding light on topics that most media could care less about and trying to bring change. keep up the solid work J.O

[@hadrien5684]

"Could care less" means that they care

[@DarkGob]

Please don't call him J.O.

[@victorolearius2436]

Use this link to learn about the difference between "could care less" and "coudn't care less": kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZ6agGODe9Cgptk +it's hilarious

[@I2345-t9e]

And how do you do your research on things you never knew about? Of course you shouldn‘t build your knowledge on only one source of information but noone can be aware of everything that‘s going on in the world.

[@Durrutitv]

Like a doctor who keeps treating each individual symptom, but never manages to realize that they're all caused by terminal capitalism...

[@ninabeena83]

Funny - a student loan rep once told me to “just go out and get a better job” or “donate blood” as I tried to renegotiate my monthly payment 😒

[@saranghae2808]

Oh no 💔

[@Historygeek0103]

If he wasn't recorded, I'm sure he would have suggested sex work

[@matthewscott192]

Ah yes student loans, the middle class equivalent of mobile homes

[@oneirishpoet]

They don't call them "blood sucking leeches" for nothing!

[@smithjarrod3935]

not funny

[@dottyjyoung]

Wow. We almost did this "to save money," and I'm so glad we didn't.

[@icaropereira3218]

When we have replicators we will have a way to live long and prosper ;) and build a quackless home.

[@jamesproimos]

It sucks, but in general the best way to "save money" is to have enough money to afford the things that end up saving you money in the long run. Which is why people that are poor are surrounded by traps designed to exploit the fact they can't afford to make better financial decisions.

[@DeannaBaileytheRavensFan]

Y'all dodged a bullet.

[@fannyizazaga]

Same

[@rblyle382]

@@ItsBlunty and the quicker you pay off that mortgage the more you make on the house in the long run.

[@MalevolentDivinity]

Something is *affordable* in the US? Rich people are here to solve. That. Problem!

[@Nicholas-f5]

Trailers were one of the last forms of affordable housing.

[@hansbass8119]

@@Nicholas-f5 please don't give rich people anymore idea

[@pfefferle74]

Gasoline is still cheap, considering other countries tax the hell out of it.

[@KaiTenSatsuma]

@@Nicholas-f5 probably better off building something off the grid with pallet wood

[@MalevolentDivinity]

@@pfefferle74 IIRC the supply of gasoline is heavily limited so as to increase prices, and places like.... Say..... Saudi Arabia are actually intrinsically capable of flooding the market and making gas dirt cheap. Which, IIRC, is exactly what led to the collapse of the Venezuelan economy.

[@MissSeaShell]

The part where they tell the sweet woman living in the park that they're just there to learn about mobile homes legitimately broke my heart

[@jessepacheco4857]

No shit. They'd see that woman live in a fucking gutter for a few dollars more...

[@rafflesssadiss8182]

MF s 😶

[@3katfox]

Eat the rich

[@nicholasprescott1150]

She reminded me of so many of the old ladies from my home town...

[@OCDTraci]

Right? When in reality, they're there to learn how to exploit them

[@Camthur1]

I live in a Clayton manufactured Home purchased in late 2014. It's still doing just fine. There's a bit of wear here and there, but it's from use, not some kind of failure in quality. I can't say how good any of them made since then are but I can definitely compare to the last "trailer" I lived in. I lived in a mid-80s Fleetwood and that thing was piece of junk compared to the current one. They apparently massively upped their building standards during those years. Fleetwood: tin roof, tin sides, felt like it leaked like a sieve and let the cool out in the summer and in during the winter. Clayton: Shingled roof, vinyl siding. It must have pretty decent insulation because it's pretty good at maintaining temperature. Things like double-paned glass (which the Fleetwood most certainly didn't have) probably helps matters. When we first moved in, everyting just felt better made and sturdier than what we were accustomed to in our old home. As for the trailer park thing, yeah, bad idea. Not so bad to live in one on your own land though.

[@diran0]

Did I just watch Janet pull out a shotgun and yell “SAY IT AGAIN MITHERFCUKER!”?!?!?!?🤣😂😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂

[@fricketyfracktraintrack]

Highlight of the vid TBH

[@Oreostes]

must be a bad janet

[@davidhollenshead4892]

Nothing quite says it like a pump shotgun, but I prefer mine in 12 Gauge with a silver barrel, as it is easier to clean all the tissue & blood from it. And remember, 00 Buckshot shells leaves no ballistic evidence, if you collect your empty shells...

[@056Iceking]

@@davidhollenshead4892 You need help.

[@VV-ig1po]

That s*** was priceless

[@Sasha32659]

12:27 That part where they tour the mobile home park like they're at a zoo just boils my blood. The poor old lady has no idea how she's being exploited and dehumanized.

[@sudmuck]

Imagine if she was your mother or grandmother.

[@chrisshank6713]

do you know how you are being exploited and dehumanized? most people don't

[@Sasha32659]

@@chrisshank6713 I know I'm just one of many wage slaves just getting by😭

[@rscottwilliams5706]

True that

[@theremix54]

@@Sasha32659 Get a better job. There are lots of jobs out there.

[@havek23]

WWE and now Mobile Homes? Hitting the heartland hard this month, John!

[@kunstkt]

Isn't it brilliant? Win them over with empathy if logic is not working.

[@codyheron7388]

@Boxing Bro It should be!

[@albear972]

The heartland, AKA flyover country. Remember, the orange doTARD one actually said that "he loves the poorly educated" being an low-functioning/Russian stooge idiot himself.

[@sallysmolich5822]

that was your take on this? He was pointing out how people were being screwed over.

[@robertfeight1205]

They need to be woke-up some how.

[@michelinman8592]

As someone who has just recently bought a manufactured home, I went in knowing every single pro and con there is. I went in knowing _who_ owns the park, _who_ made the trailer, _how_ much is lot rent, _how_ well is the park managed, and _when_ and _what_ to expect the unexpected. I also know that with housing prices the way they are, this was the last viable option for myself and my retired mother who works part-time and lives with me. I actually lived in the park I just bought my home in ~15 years ago, so it's still in OK conditions as it's not owned by one of the filthy money-hungry giants... yet. The atrocity that is capitalism can be summed up like this: *it's too expensive to be born, too expensive to live, and too expensive to die.*

[@b3ssdfae757]

I moved with my family into my grandparents double wide in a park. They own the home (well she does, granddad passed), but rent literally tripled in less than 2 years after the family who owned the place sold out to Empire Homes, where they only do rent to own now, and their moto is something like "everyone deserves a home" yet charge out of the a$# and don't want any sign that children live in the park, no bikes, toy, scooters or anything.. I guess they came in expecting a community full of childless people.

[@MuggsMcGinnis]

A mobile home is "a car you sleep in". Excellent financial description. Billionaires preying on the poor. It's a new version of "slum lord".

[@TheNefastor]

There's nothing new about it. It's how billionaires become billionaires.

[@miekekuppen9275]

New? Sadly no.

[@biohazardlnfS]

Rather have a mobile home than actually sleep in a car

[@Eo_Tunun]

I feel pressed to repeat what two others already said here: No. It's the old version. Same old shit by same old shitters.

[@erikjs]

Why does Warren Buffett’s name keep popping up in stories about preying on the poor?

[@luliby2309]

"The homes of the poorest in America are being bought by the richest." Well this can only end well...right? Man, thank you John for constantly rooting out the biggest scumbags in the world. I would have never stopped to think that mobile homes would be a place for such villainy, but I was very wrong!

[@crissd8283]

The question is, who else is going to buy them?? Someone has to own these mobile home parks. The government won't subdivide the land so each person could buy their own parcel so it has to be bought as one. The people in the park can't afford to buy it out. I can't afford to buy it, the community around the park could pool their money but they don't even want the park in their neighborhood, so who is going to own it? The rich, there is no one else that can afford it or even wants it.

[@ZennExile]

Everywhere there are impoverished and helpless populations of people, there will be Wealth Hoarding Psychopaths attempting to exploit them. Great Wealth has to be stolen, no human life is long enough to earn it. It makes perfect sense to steal from the most helpless.

[@Captain_Wet_Beard]

That shit has been going on for decades, it just wasnt as common with mobile home parks. Rich boomers bought most of the affordable property, turned it into rental property, and jacked up the prices to gouge everyone, why do you think cost of living is so fucking high? I'm looking forward to the day that all the boomers are dead, the world will be a much better place.

[@dottyjyoung]

@@crissd8283 I actually have an idea that may help these people (and other unconventional home dwellers, like tiny homes) build up some equity. If I can buy a parcel of land at a good price, then get the tiny homes/trailers/whatever on there (specifically, the kind that are self-contained for off-grid living) I can STILL charge the average rate of rent in our county, but make sure a portion of that goes into an escrow account for a down payment on a house. With the property values AND the building costs the way they are in my county, if I do this on a piece of land zoned for 2 houses per acre, the escrow acct can have 10-20% of the avg price of a 2br house in 36 MONTHS!!! The crazy thing is, I would still make 3k/month in profit on a 2.5 acre plot. I did all this math last year, and when I'm done w/this school semester, I'm going to see if I can get county approval for this. Literally, everyone wins. Greed doesn't have to dominate of we can think around the corners of problems.

[@luliby2309]

Curt: There are those issues, yes...but fortunately this video does give some ideas with those groups who are buying the parks away from the crazy rich (if I remember it correctly). TJ: Yeah man, at some point we gotta realize that blind greed only hurts things. Zenn: Well maybe it makes sense purely from a practical, non-moral perspective...from a moral perspective, it's stupid and self-destructive. Not to mention, wealth can be earned. I mean...come on...plenty have earned wealth legitimately. What are you on? Lord Thanatos: Well I guess you're living up to your name. Till We: Yes, there you go! Way to use your brain and be smart. Problems can be solved with some intelligence and creativity. If more people didn't think in such helpless and excuse-ridden ways, then we'd be in a much better situation.

[@shane-o-matic]

Protect John Oliver and the employees of Last Week Tonight at all costs.

[@TracyAllenVideos]

I feel you. Any well known personalities exposing truths about stuff the wealthy don't want people to know about, stand a chance of having a short life in this world. Sad

[@jan.tichavsky]

Besides all the bad things America still has the freedom of speech and also after speech, there are no assassinations like in Russia or other dictatorships. Or in China with their social credit score, although some might feel inspired already.

[@TheSongwritingCat]

@@jan.tichavsky Assassins can be sent to other countries. www.bbc.com/news/uk-43315636 Also, there are plenty of American assassins. They're just not sanctioned by the government.

[@jeffreysian-salas1689]

@@TheSongwritingCat true, but I would wonder if paying someone to kill another person would be worth it considering it would (potentially) turn them into a martyr and make their message louder. If I were an asshole, then I would just wait for someone else to screw up and take the heat off me, seems pretty easy nowadays

[@JeremyKing-el4rf]

@@jeffreysian-salas1689 no that is to much of an inconvenience. They already do what they will, and then cover it up.

[@disfordumboo4411]

the commodification of housing really took something that could actually serve as a great development strategy- small but still decently sized cheap to produce housing units that can be arranged to make dense walkable neighborhoods - and boldly asked the question: how can we turn this into a debt trap and make a ton of money on the suffering of others?

[@daleinaz1]

Part of it is that many towns are refusing to zone for new parks, so there is really nowhere to go even if you could afford to move the coach. Parks are ridiculously cheap to put in, so as long as new parks were opening, it kept the rents down. I lived in one back in the 1970s while going to college. The space rent was $70 per month when I moved in. Four years later it was (I think) $250. I vowed then that I would either own the land and the building, or rent the land and the building; but I would never again own the building on rented land. No control over the rent or the rules, and too expensive to move, and you are on the hook for most repairs.

[@roselinnear3040]

These a holes once again capitalizing off the suffering of others! Knock them down then kick 'em again. They have no shame, lining their pockets is the name of their game.

[@electricpaper269]

You would have all that if only the government allowed it. The competitive market would supply abundant, and thus cheap, housing if only it were allowed to do so. Zoning laws mean that housing is very hard to build and therefore is artificially scarce, and prices only go up as demand outstrips supply. That is the real issue. If you keep one person in their homes by preventing others from outbidding them, you are just causing someone else in the market to not have housing they otherwise would’ve had. Giving away a cow for cheap at an auction, only means some other bidder loses out on a cow they otherwise would’ve had.

[@Badficwriter]

@@electricpaper269 The other bidder was a Saudi oil prince looking to buy real estate and leave empty, for the investment. A net loss to the system. And there are plenty of houses on the market. Many people can't sell their property. Because they need to set their prices high in order to buy whereever they're moving to.

[@Mr.Spongecake]

Every time I hear "until investors came in and bought it up" I immediately know where the story is going.

[@jimb5421]

Your right no story here. Their buying up everything everywhere.

[@acchaladka]

Towards the re-establishment of guillotines in public places in major cities.

[@Original_Tenshi_Chan]

www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/blog/meet-the-economist-behind-the-one-percents-stealth-takeover-of-america#.XKQlq0gqHB8.twitter I highly recommend checking out that article and the book Democracy In Chains. It explains how we got to this place. How our system and people became so warped. When we fully understand how we got here, then we can properly begin the road to undoing all their malfeasance.

[@GlassesnMouthplates]

It's the "Everything changed when the fire nation attacked" version of reality.

[@Tkb135]

Glasses&Mouthplates “Everything Changed when Private Equity Attacked.”

[@Knives323]

Thank you, i was looking into getting a mobile home for my dad. Now i know i should get him the land too or im just setting him up for failure.

[@williambaldwin9068]

a toy box/camper trailer (5th wheel or not) will go up in value. buy land and get him one of those!

[@dgodrummer8110]

You are correct! Land almost always gains value. mobiles lose value. I have some advice for you... but first the story of my experience w/ my mobile home... I bought and lived in an old mobile home in my youth; 2000-2006. Friend sold it to me for $2500, and I fixed it up and made it quite a nice bachelor pad in the country. I had it placed on a private land (35 acres) and paid rent to property owner who also had another home they rented on the property. It served as a stepping stone to buying a stick built home b/c mobile was paid off, and only paid $300/mo for rent, I could save money. When I sold it I actually had numerous folks interested, unfortunately the old man that wanted it could only makes payments to me. I gave him the title, b/c he was in a bad spot and "promised not to screw me over"; he never paid it off, after making only $800 in payments (I advertised it for $10,000 w/ many folks interested to buy it for that price, and decided to help this old guy by selling to him for $4000). It eventually got crushed in the snow where he moved it to, and it was left for dead on the private land owners property. Had I not given him the title, I would have been responsible for cleaning up the burned up, snow crushed wreckage. Sometimes things work out for the better. what I've learned: They have their place. But just know, they lose value quickly. Good news is, on raw land they go up in about 1-2 months from breaking ground; excavation, utility lines, sewer or septic, water lines or cistern. I recently tried to buy land that had one on it. Only loan I could get was an AG loan (land loan), B/c the mobile home was not on a permanent foundation. Ended up having to wait for my house to sell, and someone bought the land with mobile home, before I could get my place sold (realtor talked the seller into purging the mobile home; keep reading for explanation). To really keep the value for resale, have it "purged"; meaning have a contractor put a foundation around it. Cost is $10,000-15,000 roughly, based on size of home (double wides obviously cost more) and everything is subject to local contractor costs. Once a home has a foundation, a buyer can get a "home loan". It's actually a business people get into ; buying mobiles not purged, then they put a foundation under it, re-sell and make some cash. I think mobile homes are a viable way for some families to own a "home" on land, and they very well may live in them for the remainder of their lives. Always must consider resale value though. B/c mobile homes do not have much. BUT, if one can live in a mobile home, while building a second home on the property (if county codes allow) then you'd end up with a rental unit after moving into the new stick built home. Much to consider. and I've been researching the crap outta this over the last few years. Be sure to talk to realtors; friends or friends of friends, you feel you can trust. They will help you understand what mobiles are going for in your area, and explain the devaluation of them. Do your best to understand long term devaluation. best of luck!

[@eponymousIme]

@@dgodrummer8110 Good information. Thanks for sharing.

[@andrewashworth8327]

I'd say in general most homes, mobile or not, lose value. It's pretty rare for the building minus the land underneath it to go up in price as it gets older. (Who would pay more for an old building compared to a new building? It makes no sense.) Now, it's true mobile homes depreciate in value more than regular buildings to an extent, one way to avoid that is to put the mobile home on a foundation (so-called modular home). This will also allow you to qualify for a traditional mortgage instead of a short-term chattel loan.

[@Nick_Barone]

Knives323 it took this video for you to know that?

[@tureytaino2785]

Thank you John Oliver for saving me from making a huge mistake.

[@aninfinitelyvixxedvip6]

@Turey Taino hopefully you get a better alternative and good life. Good luck

[@ChaosRae]

I hope things turn out awesome for you. Truly, best of luck to you! :)

[@jarednance2013]

THIS was your research?

[@fandomguy8025]

@@jarednance2013 Well he's go good sources.

[@sethb1689]

One of the worst parts about mobile homes is that nothing is standard so if you have to fix or replace anything it would costs a fortune to do so because they have to specially order EVERYTHING. For example, the space designated for the furnace and water heater is too small for regular sized furnaces and water heaters so you can't shop around for a deal or anything like that and are locked to more or less 1 model from 1 brand and it costs way more than regular sized stuff. In essence everything is miniaturized.

[@tylerkeller8869]

I lived in a mobile home in the 90's. My parents purchased one and it was actually very nice. The problem is all the snakes described in this video.

[@cottage-core_]

I think they're not constructed as well today as they used to be. They're not built to last. And also snakes

[@raydavies6236]

@@cottage-core_ They can be very nice. Like some mansions on Martha's Vineyard are built offsite in panels. I saw one that had super thick walls and was hurricane proof. Those are true manufactured homes though, not mobile homes.

[@benjamingrezik373]

@@cottage-core_ depends on the manufactured home. Some are nice. some like the ones in these videos are trash

[@sabrit0n35]

Well if they have snakes, better not get a mobile home in Victoria, Australia.

[@jacquelinebell2949]

just added a comment...I've lived in three in three states. In old days the owners sometimes lived there as well as part of the community. One in particular: The Ponderosa in Indianapolis. Now when I street view on googlemaps, most are deserted, boarded up, no skirting and guess what, the new ones they are wanting to sell are terrible. www.mhvillage.com/parks/12632 I lived in a 1970 14x60 4x11 tipout Shult total electrical removable hitch. We thought we were tough shit.

[@rubberdwellers3911]

I have respect for this man now. It is badass that he actually paid attention to a community that has no spokesperson.

[@sunshine3914]

I’m super shocked that a network aired it.

[@BubblewrapHighway]

@@sunshine3914 What interesting times in which we live.

[@manufacturedhomesyoutubevi3450]

It is an interesting report, but there are several items that could have been raised. Not a slam, just a fact. Example: www.manufacturedhomelivingnews.com/giant-manufactured-home-community-operator-and-manufactured-housing-institute-member-rhp-properties-backs-down-hud-fhfa-nonprofits-and-you/

[@nonovyobiznez3735]

Sometimes this feels like cramming for an exam. So much information in just 15 minutes and straight to the point. The only difference is you comprehend the whole thing

[@rickyrick9499]

You comprehend what you are spoonfed here sir. Being in the MHC space I'll let you know this is just one biased side of things and provides zero contex. Those tat dontre know anything about the industry and it's unfortunate.

[@nonovyobiznez3735]

@@rickyrick9499 I'm sure those seminar speeches were taking out of context. 🙄

[@SorikuXIII]

@@nonovyobiznez3735 This dude probably attended one of those seminars lol.

[@wf6951]

I love straight to the point, I ain't got any time for no bullshit.

[@rickyrick9499]

@@davidlewisjohnson4235 nice! Im sure you're all well versed in the space and know what you're talking about lol. I'll continue prviding alternate options to people and taking care of my great residents and communities. Enjoy life and do your part to help others. The government certainly won't.

[@nickim6571]

This is really scary for those of us who own mobile homes. Our park got bought by a big real estate company 3 years ago and they've raised the rent twice already. Their big "improvements"? New mailboxes and speed bumps.

[@sofiaarango3484]

Good Janet, Bad Janet and Janet oppressed by the burgeois

[@ChrisCapretto]

Came here specifically looking for a Janet reference. Was not disappointed!

[@AspLode]

PLEASE GOD NO DON'T PRESS THE BUTTON I HAVE KIDS.

[@pirsquar58]

The weird disconnect of Janet asking someone if they're a robot.

[@saram1596]

C'est , pas 😂😂😂

[@jonathancharron7360]

Say it again, Motherforker!

[@carloslope159]

I have nothing but admiration and respect for John Oliver and the people that produce this show. It is really funny, but more importantly these are real issues that no covers with this level of depth. We need more content like this. Much, much more.

[@mataburt]

I used to live in a mobile home park. The changes I saw growing up make so much sense now that I know what has been happening.

[@whatup4998]

Matt Burtless you see some crazy shit growing up? What was the craziest thing you saw pimpin?

[@DeInevitable]

lot space was raised on my mobile home 6 years ago and I've been homeless ever since. thank you for this

[@nitinbhatt10]

Always brings up the issues affecting public and not covered my streamline media. Great content, as usual.

[@creamsykle]

This is nonsense, NPR ran an hour long piece on this months ago. That was two days before i decided to invested in a local equity firm that buys mobile home park properties. You should try it, you can get a 10-12% return on your money pretty easily. Thanks for letting me know NPR =D

[@rajendrasingh977]

Not entirely true; This show is still selective and picks topics that are politically correct.

[@Zzanney]

Janet from The Good Place and Gretchen form Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt make a great cross-over

[@EllyValentini]

Zzanney GRETCHEN! Thank you! I could not figure out, for the life of me, where I had seen her before.

[@jorgeamadosoriaramirez8953]

Rhatnks for identifying Gretchen. I was thinking of Kary Stoll, formerly from Cracked, but something was off with her

[@d.w.stratton4078]

D'Arcy is such a dreamboat!

[@DrWh1teCat]

One is a robot-like operational mainframe for Heaven stolen by the architects of Hell, and the other is a cultist who spent 15 years in a bunker in Indiana. Together, they are going to discuss the manufactured housing market and expose its dirty laundry. What sort of hijinks will ensue? Watch them at 8/7c on The CW

[@kfitzz]

THIS is the top voted comment! holy shit.

[@m1l22]

*_I beg to differ, I do believe Turtles are the original inventors of Mobile Home_*

[@haoxinlinying5278]

I'd say the nautilus are the original ones.

[@smullins17]

sorry, single cell bacteria are always the OG in my book.

[@cescentreri5231]

What came first? The turtle or the snail?

[@UbiquitousCthulhu]

B-but, the Nautilus just _seems_ older

[@Suja_Varghese]

@@hectorg.7282 , You have proof?

[@gailtravers7870]

Like the vice article, we tried to buy our park from our predatory owners, Sunrise Capital Investors. They had said they would sell for fair market value. After we had all the due diligence activities completed, the owners backed out of a deal at the last minute, saying they wanted $1,000,000 more. It is a greed that is directly linked to homelessness and the need for state governments to pick up the pieces of these broken communities with food stamps and other assistance. The predatory owners get rich, the taxpayers pay the price, the homeowners within the park live in fear and lose their dignity and independence by needing to rely on others for help...not to mention the eventual ruin of the park. No money for home repairs followed by a slow, painful, predictable decline.

[@junnatha]

Snap!!!. Companies literally get subsidised and get loans that are actually money from mostly taxpayer and ordinary citizens.

[@sprj7792]

The ending commercial was hilarious..."are you a witch?...what's wrong with you" xD

[@muck_bagels]

One of their better skits in a while

[@danielketterer9683]

Damn! Hard hitting stuff as usual. John Oliver yields unprecedented power in shaping the national dialogue, and with humor and wit he continues to steer us away from unbridled stupidity.

[@thatonegirlelaine]

The scene of them walking through the mobile home park made me cry.

[@scottchelmford7136]

Isnt your husband a slumlord?

[@TawdryTempest]

Like sharks cruising minnows. :(

[@tharp769]

Me too. That just broke my heart. How can people be so predatory? Smh.

[@xxXthekevXxx]

Shawn how do you not understand? It’s so sad seeing people treated like they’re objects instead of people.

[@kosmossee4596]

Why.? That's how some ppl live or most live ...it's a roof over there head... It's still a home

[@app103]

Never, ever, EVER own a home of any sort, without also owning the land it sits upon.

[@VAULT-TEC_INC.]

God bless you for continually sticking it to The Man and educating me about these little known but important issues!

[@allenscenery]

John Oliver is one of a few comedians who actually make positive social impacts. We need more hosts like him.

[@jimmyp9105]

If only he was pro gun.

[@bobk906]

Man I miss Jon Stewart

[@LittleRapGuy]

Little Rap Guy and Friends are pretty great too

[@sid294]

Check out Hasan Minhaj "Patriot Act'

[@staceykersting705]

I love Trevor Noah. Stephen Colbert's on point and Seth Meyers. Some issues, tho.....I think they're afraid to touch.

[@gaiusjuliuspleaser]

I keep asking myself why these people aren't in prison. Then I look at US Congress and I have my answer.

[@LJCyrus1]

When money = congressional seat, donors = big money, and this bullshit is what the donors want...this bullshit is legal.

[@creativeusername6453]

Because we keep putting the fuckers in office that's why

[@whatisthis__95]

Why wpould they be in prison? The fault is of the people that build non mobile homes on sites destined for mobile homes

[@davidhollenshead4892]

Corporatism...

[@vaidehiraghavan]

More than congressmen, its the fellows(incl Buffett and other guys) at the top who control the Govt by befriending some in the senate and changing policies to suit their own agendas to become billionaires. The no of billionaires has gone up in US since 2000 while the income inequality has widened...its easy to connect the dots.

[@marycollin9917]

Wow, I just saw this. From 1990 to 2000, we lived in Paradise Cove home home park in Malibu. Yes, ok, Malibu. Then, the prices were very reasonable as were the space rents. We bought ours for 119,000 and sold it for 175,000 which at the time was a lot of money. The home we had is worth over $1.5 million now. I checked on line recently and a two bedroom two bath mobile home was 2.9 million, and that’s not including exorbitant space rent! At the time they were a lot of older retired people and it was not overpriced. For the past 12 years, we lived in a lovely mobile home park in Ventura California, eight minutes to the beach. Our mom and pop place was taken over by investment company and we knew it was time to leave. We have recently retired in beautiful Portugal. 😊

[@fourthgirl]

Thank you LWT. Being over 50 in the Bay Area, I cannot afford the home prices here. I was looking into purchasing a mobile home and I am glad I watched this episode first.

[@freyaodinsdottir2207]

Ditto. I live in Colorado and the cost of housing is so bad here, I was considering the same.

[@jbdragon3295]

I lived in a mobile for years, then sold it for what I paid for it as I finally got a house during the last housing crash. Where I got a nice little house. Much, much larger than my mobile home. The rent in the mobile home park was going up quite a bit. Seeing how much rent prices are, cost are the same for me as renting a apartment.

[@TheSadie58]

Get out of California! Don't go to Vegas because all the other folks getting out of California are moving there therefore , you can't afford to live there now either!

[@crazyluigi6664]

@@TheSadie58 So basically either Arizona or Oregon, depending on how far a Californian moving out is at from either state?

[@ThatLaloBoy]

@@crazyluigi6664 if you can stand heat, Arizona. If you can survive cold, Oregon. At least, that was the experience of my friends who have moved there.

[@GintokiGod]

The reality is that this is a huge problem. I live in a park and I can say first hand that people really do struggle to pay because of fixed income and the crazy high lot rent. It's just sad they just couldn't leave us alone..

[@cream_city]

They already put the housing industry into the shitcan...why not spread the wealth eh

[@Jake007123]

Look for those non-profit organisations that Oliver talked about, see if your community can do something about it.

[@StrigidaeStrigiformes-sv6mj]

And no one cares. Because we are all glued on to our cellphone screens and monitors. Obsessed with virtual lives and lies. And that is what THEY want.

[@bernlin2000]

It's because the poor are in least-positioned to fight for their own rights: they have little representation (and are least likely to be aware of how to work the levers of government, which respond best at the moment to large sums of cash, which poor people of course do not have) and few avenues to get relief, legally or financially. Our laws are not working for the working poor, and that's a sin.

[@wetokebitcoins1769]

@JR Thomas You're a fucking moron. Trump has nothing to do with this, people were doing this way before trump came to office.

[@emileebaker8520]

I have lived in mobile homes for the entirety of my 29 year life with the exception of the eight semesters I spent in dorms during college. My greatest ambition in life is to live in a home that offers even the slightest hint of shelter during a tornado or derecho.

[@jojijojo3566]

Exactly, many people buying MH now don’t understand this because of how ‘nice’ they look now.

[@noparley9256]

Those 500+ dislikes are from predetory firms and their employees

[@hannahm7373]

LOL--although we actually know that they're from right wing bots who just automatically come on to sites like this to do a thumbs down without even looking at it. (I wonder how many are living in those mobile homes and getting ripped off).

[@icin4d]

@Grim Love "Dumb" let's them off the hook a little too much. "Ignorant" is the word they deserve.

[@Nick_Barone]

mussa sherif like Warren Buffet

[@captiosus_77]

The sad reality is that for a lot of us it's still cheaper than apartment living. I'm paying a mortgage for a 2010 mobile home; We opted to go this route after the housing bust in 2008 as it was more economical despite the obvious financial downsides. My mortgage is $384 a month. Lot rent where my home is located (Southeast VA) is $425 a month. $809 a month combined. The *cheapest* two bedroom apartment in my area is ~$975, and that's in the worst part of town with high crime rates and in a food desert. If I want a 2BR apartment close to where my current home is situated, it's between $1100-$1300. Most home rentals are around the same, and traditional mortgages are 3x as much as we're paying per month. Even if park management raised rent by $200 a month (which would suck for us, no doubt) it's still less than we'd pay for a meager two bedroom apartment. E: I just looked up the one bedroom apartment my wife and I had prior to purchasing this. Our rent when we left was $675. Today, the exact same one bedroom apartment is $950. The only difference? New management company. So let's not act like this issue is limited to mobile home rental parks. Landlords exploiting tenants is happening EVERYWHERE.

[@Davitofrito]

One bedroom in Surprise AZ was 975$. Know people who do maintenance on the property. Anyway, they strip out carpet before a new tenant moves in and make sure all units have new amenities. But that is one complex, apartment I complex I grew up in back up in the Midwest had the same stoves, microwaves and everything else for almost 30 years with rising rents and no money put into the complex. Used to have an indoor pool but they poured concrete into it and shut it down. Claimed it wasn't profitable. Zoning laws are also an issue since most people don't want new apartments or affordable housing built anywhere near them. My city is putting in 1000 new homes with most being 250,000 starting. Most jobs today are in retail and many more are simply part time. Can't imagine an 8% jump in rent or them being able to afford to live somewhere cheap to save to buy a home. Subprime lending caused 2008 crash yet everywhere people are doing the same all over again. Average person buying a car is in their forties to sixties because everyone else finances their cars with loans they can't afford or buys used cars.

[@isabellevasquez7433]

I live in San Francisco. I can get a small apartment with 2 roommates and have to pay $1000 a month in rent each. My friend is living in an apartment with 5 people, each paying $900 a month, and with their first month and deposit they’d be paying 10k. We are COLLEGE. STUDENTS. We have loans piling up as our school increases tuition each year and that is our option for living. Minimum wage is $14 I believe. So riddle me how the fuck any of us are supposed to be full time students pay rent work 2 jobs and feed ourselves???

Same here bud. Clayton in Sussex

[@nevenkapanic9693]

@@isabellevasquez7433 You don't, system is making slavery legal with consent of the people.

[@isabellevasquez7433]

Nevenka Panić Yup. I don’t know about consent but more a sense of entrapment

[@natalie_kendel]

John Oliver is the perfect collision between hilarious and incredibly insightful/informative. Thank you, Jolliver!!

[@mcmacshalfilya]

You are the perfect collision between talented and incredibly beautiful. Your songs are TOP NOTCH by the way. I love Christian music..

[@pet3590]

Jolliver xD

[@Onlera]

Yeah, it was tough when I was looking to buy a house and so many of the “affordable” homes were manufactured ones. Part of why I wanted to buy a house instead of renting was to start building equity. And a manufactured home just doesn’t do that. I was so lucky to find a real house I could afford. It’s small, but it’s actually holding equity ^^

[@EmoSew1]

Whoever edited that end clip to make it look like the 90s good job!

[@jamiedale5785]

THAT COMMERCIAL MADE MY DAY!!!!

[@BillStrathearn]

This gave me "Too Many Cooks" vibes

[@kurtispopp]

Everybody from my generation knows the heyday of the sexy sax riff was the 80s.

[@sebr0wn]

Not just the editor but whoever wrote, produced and directed did great too. Oh and the CG was on point to give it the 90s sitcom vibe.

[@smilingdog4067]

I was thinking 80's

[@michaelfitz6566]

As someone who works in the Urban Planning industry, this is too painfully accurate. We have one park in my town that went private with individual lots, and another that got bought out by the Housing Authority (still lot rent, but a stable nonprofit owner), and one that was originally built as a platted subdivision, and the other 3 parks are all privately owned. The homes in one of them, particularly, are essentially worthless due to the lot rent.

[@denisvasiliev694]

Damn, he's so good. Oliver is getting better and better. Great choice of topics, actually trying to do some good with his show.

[@Nicholas-f5]

He always does!

[@Hellsong89]

@@Nicholas-f5 Not always. His mostly just political mouth peace under disguise of "comedy", but when its not political topic he gets some things right like this one.

[@kenlavicka]

@@Hellsong89 what did he get wrong with politics? your feelings?

[@lukecwolf]

I had to rewatch this after finding myself dislocated for a year and a half after the pandemic lockdowns and needing to find a new home. I was really considering mobile home living for a while: the rent through hoa was cheap, and i briefly thought i could just sell the home eventuaaly when i moved. . But after crunching the numbers, i figured rent is just a little cheaper than a crappy apartment in the city, and you'll have to pay for repairs yourself (all the expenses wih renting combined with the expenses of home ownership!). It would essentially cost 7-10 years to break even, and for that price i could just buy a small one bedroom home. . And the worst part is that housing sites like zillow make no distinction between mobile parks and actual houses, they get bundled together. Screw that idea.

[@recordscratch81]

This is absolutely one of the most sobering John Oliver episodes.

[@andrewgoodbody2121]

Eat the rich

[@kjrehberg]

Except he's confusing mobile homes with manufactured homes. The commercial is trying to convince manufactured home buyers that these homes are not mobile homes but are real houses that happen to be prefabbed in a factory. One of my family members owns a manufactured home like the one in the commercial.

[@F117DJS]

Andrew Goodbody can we distribute their equity and liquidate their funds to actually improve living in US? Since they won’t be using it.

[@alexgulino335]

@@kjrehberg Same goes for trailers and mobile homes as well... they settle and are very hard to move once they're sitting for a bit unless it stays on wheels you change regularly like an rv. You Have to run sewer/septic lines with the same materials used in houses, run a gas line, hook up to power, hook up to cable etc... and someone has to disconnect all those lines then reattach them to move if the structural integrity of the place is good enough to move to begin with. Many people add porches/patios etc to them which are connected and have to be demolished partially beforehand also. Essentially it is not worth it at all to move it and ends up being cheaper in the long run to buy a new place because it isn't worth the investment to move an older place when it isn't going to last much longer anyway.

[@angelgjr1999]

Am I the only one who thinks its insane to charge people money just to live? Like, the property owner did not build the planet earth. Everyone should be entitled to a small piece of land.

[@rocr69]

The financializaton of every aspect of American life is killing the underclasses.

[@acmund]

Yeah...its a shame people have to pay for what they have...more importantly...the decisions they make. smh

@@acmund I'm guessing you didn't watch the video. If you did, you're not just heartless, but an idiot too.

[@ryanbertoldi8303]

Capitalism is so great eh?

[@DarkLinkAD]

​@@acmund Yeah what a shame that if you make 15k a year, your taxes go to feeding and sheltering people over seas, long before your own town can scrape the shit off its streets, much less feed and cloth those who need it..

[@danieljensen2626]

@@DarkLinkAD Lol, if you make 15k a year you basically pay no taxes.

[@MrNamesNoMore]

Just want to say that I really appreciate this show, John manages to condense important information that people should know into a tight and entertaining show. Even though I do not live in America, this type of information is still quite eye-opening to the inner workings/issues occurring in other nations, and sometimes, reflect similar issues in my very own home nation. Kudos.

[@AineAdachi]

Chua Koktung Very well said! I totally agree with you.

[@mateuszmakowski9974]

You summed up my feelings exactly, and propably in better words than I could. Cheers man :P

[@Spyderredtoo]

I had a home in a park which imposed annual lot increases. At one point, the park manager , a CPA who married the woman who inherited the park from her mother, decided to force everyone to repaint the mobile in his chosen colors - but at their expulsion. I was able to stop him through exposure. But it didn’t end there. I moved out after my husband died, tried to sell it for two years, and ended up giving it away to a couple who took over the lot payments. Never again!

[@jacobgarsson2447]

Not gonna lie, I would genuinely like to watch a few episodes of "Everything's Fine, with John Oliver"

[@0Clewi0]

I would google isis hamster if it wasn't for the fbi

[@braunsteinfreres8930]

@@laurabrown9932 I'm going to buy some soon freak. thanks....

[@MinneapolisDavid]

Before I played this....I thought the same thing!!!! “Oh Lord - what’s awful now??!!!?

[@themotivator2587]

No kidding. I've been binging on John Oliver for two days, and it's frankly depressing how much this world is controlled by people who care only about their own interests and see other human beings as garbage to be abused. It's only the jokes in his segments that keep me from crying over the news he's reporting on.

[@PrettyGuardian]

Right? He can make jokes while talking about nice topics.

[@mlaridon]

Sweet, D'Arcy Carden from The Good Place, I love her!

[@HypnoLuna]

+

[@RealRomplayer]

It's oddly fitting. I mean - the mobile homes were said to be "The Good Place" to live in - although it's actually turning out to be hell for some of the owners.

[@minam9851]

Also, that girl from the bunker on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt!

[@bryanjensen355]

Brilliant double entendre casting there!

[@Jonathanest90s]

Maitreya Laridon me too

[@SpoOkyMagician]

A quote comes to mind. "The rent is too damn high."

[@tjcofer7517]

Lol

[@APerson-hn8rm]

#Jimmy McMillan

[@kcufeht5795]

Reminds me of my cousin. "Fuck y'all! I got a tent!"

[@davidhendrickson6678]

#2020

[@godspeed2145]

@Amalaric GoTH dam son do u work at a hedge fund

[@isengrom6883]

“Pull your self up by your boot straps” I can’t because I’m chained to this Waffle House booth

[@dino0228]

🤣

[@BoggWeasel]

On behalf of owner/tenants everywhere in the USA, thanks John, about time someone threw some light on this subject.

[@ManoredRed]

@J G Stupid people don't deserve to suffer because the're stupid. The existence of stupid people in droves means the country's education is shite, anyways.

[@Demokrat11]

why the f would anybody build a home on land they dont own?!

[@patricialessard7150]

I started a residence association in our park & later, we bought the park.

[@milesbeler3974]

congrats!

[@doomsdayzalinsky7910]

That's wonderful. Thanks for telling us.

[@joseph10171]

What was the result? Did the rent go down?

[@zekova]

Holy shit! Fuck yeah my girl! :D

[@Breezedaddyfresh]

@@joseph10171 Rents usually spike to account for the cost of financing and any major capital expenditures (Infrastructure repairs, etc.). Usually anywhere from $10 - $100 per space per month. Rents will (typically) never raise again for the life of the financing. 30-60 years.

[@Sagaan42]

That "Oh that's good" quote from the old lady makes my heart ache.

[@joelcrow]

Sadly, these people vote against the kinds of policies that would protect and help them. Is it Socialist to want to protect your grandma who lives on $1200 a month social security from being taken advantage of?

[@joegreen4959]

It's well known that the poor people very often vote against their own interests because they trust the advice/comments of people that are lying to them.

[@thetruewisegamer]

Of course it you communist. If we don’t blood of capitalism will run dry. Do you want a state where people have to eat each other? I think not(it’s a joke by the way cause I once had a similar answer given to me)

[@matthewscott192]

Why yes it is. That is a very good point tho! It seems they are predominantly poor white people who overwhelmingly vote for the right because they like bitching about immigrants and black people over not being fucked over by the rich people who pay the politicians they vote for to pretend their biggest threat is rufugees instead of the people fucking them.. thanks i genuinely feel less bad now!😁

[@igalvis1168]

It really is heartbreaking, but see majority of today's republican party.

[@darksoles1305]

@Joel Crow If you think Democrats protect poor people you are sorely mistaken

[@OrmTourist]

John Oliver = internet Robin Hood. God bless you sir!

[@cesartoledo1495]

Mr Orm porfavor

[@natalie_kendel]

YES!!!

[@ThePotatoad]

Thank you for the shampoo joke. It was more spot on than you realize. Also apply this to any bottled condiment too. Little luxuries.

[@JJ21210]

From an eco point of view, it makes sense to get every drop of the item you've bought; the lost product residue for billions of persons globally using container-ed products every day is massive, leading to innumerable extra containers being produced, shipped, purchased -- massive waste. Not so palatable to dilute condiments, I know, but no loss and lots of gain when doing this with all household and personal-care products. It also saves money.

[@thesteezefactor96]

Wait, wait, wait... "condiment"? As in like ketchup or mayonnaise? I mean shampoo makes sense (I've done that many times), but CONDIMENTS??? Ain't no way in hell I'm putting ketchup water on my fries lmao

[@wildwesley9328]

We did that with liquid soap

[@lelexoxo303]

@@thesteezefactor96 It's not about putting water in. You could for example twist off the cap or cut the packaging open. I frequently do that with my toothpaste, I can easily brush my teeth seven times more with the residue you would have normally thrown away.

[@Amethystar]

My dad would water down milk to make it last longer... Could be why I don't really like milk now.

[@chickenmon]

This is John Oliver back in form: highlighting injustice in an absurd and hilarious manner.

[@Ibegood]

It's been quite a while since he's had a full segment without a cheap shot at a politician as well.

[@zachparker9711]

Good call

[@mori1bund]

Hmm, how is it that conservatives suddenly agree with John Oliver? Oh, that's right: the last two episodes were about wrestling and trailer parks - suddenly they can relate. ^^

[@Quincy_Morris]

Drew R injustice? No one forced anyone to buy a mobile home.

[@JonathanTaylor85]

This is the John Oliver I miss. I hope he stays like this because when he, Colbert, and other media figures went crazy political I stopped watching. I want to see stories like this.

[@audreysmith6221]

You should revisit this topic. Manufactured homes are nice and new, address the issue, pointing out the issues that people face with, older or used homes. I paid 5000 for a '95, switched it out for a '73 I moved into, already on the lot. It's the newest one in the court. Now we've got people coming in, buying the lots and raising rents, on trailers owned by the renters, that are too old to move.

[@someone890]

Still definitely not a guy exploding through a table.

[@kylestubbs8867]

On that note, did he have anything to say about WrestleMania this show?

[@Turtleproof]

When I was a landlord I renovated the properties myself, fixed utilities myself, and worked with tenants when they were behind in rent, jacking up rates to starve them never crossed my mind. How do these tycoons sleep at night?

[@Jake007123]

By being psychopaths. They should be put in jail, ASAP. Kudos for you for being a decent human being!

[@solhsa]

On really, really soft pillows.

[@dottyjyoung]

They have a brain disorder that keeps them from feeling empathy, and GOP/fundamentalists normalized their excuses via feaux news.

[@347tester]

America rewards behavior like this from companies , people are only seen as numbers and profit not humans .

[@tybofborg]

You _were_ a landlord. They still _are._ The system rewards this type of behavior.

[@jacktheflying]

You know when people say "eat the rich?" This is why.

[@5pctLowBattery]

Billionaire Hedge-Fund Manager Warns a “Revolution” Is Coming Ray Dalio is extremely worried there’s about to be an uprising in America. Writing in a new essay on LinkedIn, the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund says that while capitalism has worked out exceedingly well for him, he’s also “seen capitalism evolve in a way that it is not working well for the majority of Americans because it’s producing self-reinforcing spirals up for the haves and down for the have-nots.” In turn, that’s created “widening income/wealth/opportunity gaps that pose existential threats to the United States because these gaps are bringing about damaging domestic and international conflicts and weakening America’s condition.” Dalio, who owns a 185-foot yacht, sites statistics that show: www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/04/ray-dalio-capitalism-revolution

[@gangl1234]

@@5pctLowBattery You know if he's that worried, maybe he should give some of that 16.9 billion out to the 'have nots'. No one needs that much money. Course he also believes firing people is no big deal, so that just tells you what kind of shitbag he is.

[@5pctLowBattery]

B Sal haha yeah right. He’d rather write than article than actual do anything about the inequality that exists. Those folks rather hold on to all their billions.

[@AsDfler12]

If you live in the US then you are one of the "rich" of this world.

[@supportedlivingnetwork2481]

@@AsDfler12 Not necessarily. There are people starving in Mississippi in Detroit in NYC in LA in New Orleans in Flint in Atlanta in Miami in Orlando in DC in Baltimore...

[@patmclaughlin107]

This is extremely sad. Thank you, John, for doing these and informing people.

[@Lauren.E.O]

I love this man. He comes up with so many topics I never think about and draws us in with extremely compelling arguments.

[@Jake007123]

Well, there's a reason why he got a journalistic award while he keeps telling people he is not a real journalist.

[@jetmirlekiqi7963]

The writers and researchers deserve as much credit too

[@Lauren.E.O]

Jetmir Lekiqi Of course

[@skyeparker1333]

I have an intense love/hate relationship with this show. I always feel incredibly grateful that the LastWeekTonight team is shedding light on these important issues, but also abstractly angry that our society is plagued with these kinds of stupid psychopathic problems in the first place.

[@mduckernz]

Be angry at capitalism, then, and the society that says it is the only way

[@exceedinglycurioable]

@@mduckernz I don't think it's a capitalism problem. I think it's a lack of morals problem.

[@mduckernz]

@@exceedinglycurioable Then you should have a problem with capitalism then, since it is inherently exploitative. Its very structure funnels the money towards those with capital, and these intrinsically tend to be those with less scruples about screwing over their fellow human. I can recommend the series called "Why capitalism sucks" by NonCompete if you are interested in understanding why.

[@exceedinglycurioable]

@@mduckernz I agree capitalism sucks, but I don't know a system that doesn't suck more.

[@mduckernz]

@@exceedinglycurioable I would say that all the places where true socialist societies (e.g. not SocDem, which are still capitalist) have been tried, they were already highly dysfunctional places where most people lived in poverty already, and then during what was already going to be a difficult process since it was incredibly new to everyone, they had capitalists trying to tear down their society from the inside and outside, foreign countries trying to trigger coups and other hostile takeovers (just look at the history of the CIA and the number of dictators they installed), and so on. Basically, it was a social experiment the capitalists could not afford to allow to work. We don't know how they would have worked out otherwise, and we especially don't know how it would go in a country that wasn't dysfunctional to start with. But, putting aside even all of that... I would say that these earlier conceptions were highly flawed as they ignored a bunch of other coercive factors that will tend to destroy/disrupt society even once class inequality is removed - there is still race, sex, ethnicity, religion, etc. These cannot of course be eliminated, but they must at least be taken account of... and earlier conceptions did not. They basically assumed that almost all strife would disappear once class inequality was removed. It's easy to say now, of course, but this is with the benefit of hindsight - lots of it. We've had a lot of time to see where they went wrong, and how to avoid that in future. I'd say it's worth giving it another try. And perhaps a smaller step at first - say, democratic socialism (which has not been tried on any significant scale, I should say), not communism. That's way too big of a change, way too quickly. And no authoritarian states! We already know how they end, on both the left and the right. ... Hope this answered your question. I know it's long, I apologise, but it needed to be to cover everything I felt needed covering.

[@ulalaFrugilega]

A system where that evil guy is on perfectly legal ground must be very wrong somehow.

[@TheSamuraiXX011]

That's capitalism for ya!

[@ucfknight239]

That’s capitalism for you.

[@seairis616]

Evil greed can be solved with just 50 cents. A 45 APC bullet. But that would be immoral (extreme sarcasm).

[@broccolibeater]

@@ucfknight239 dosnt have to be that bad. but everything more restrictive is labeled socialist and pushed aside instantly. capitalism is not that miserable in every country

[@Molybdaenmornell]

@@broccolibeater Yes. The people who tell you never to interfere with any of the market need to know that there is a market for states. They often arise as a consequence of demand for them, specifically for their ability to restrict the predatory law-of-the-jungle excesses of capitalism found in slavery, child labour or indeed here.

[@rramdohr7548]

Would love to see an update to this in general residential housing, not just mobile homes, and the economics behind our current housing market.

[@paxcallow]

you know, this whole "eat the rich" thing is starting to sound better and better.

[@darkphoenix2]

Problem is, the ones who deserve to be eaten probably don't taste very good.

[@tabularasa0606]

I hear they're made of bacon.

[@qwikvr6gti]

They would eat you if given the chance.

[@KrisMoe]

Just a tax will do :) Trickle up economy instead of the debunked trickle down economy that is in effect now

[@pragmat1k]

Please don't, I'm very thin, not a lot of good meat on me. D: