I watched this for the 2nd time last night on satellite.

My grandparents lived like that 75 years ago. My great great grandparents homesteaded out in the worst part of New Mexico they could find. They lived much the same as these folks, except with a lot less, and they got by. Grandma's usual response to people wanting to live what they think is a simpler life like this is "why on earth would anyone want to live like that?" I guess if you grow up with it and eventually you find something a little more reliable and a little more comfortable, you tend to have more appreciation for the things of man, and a bit less for being able to do whatever you want. Grandma's response to all that freedom was "freedom to do what? You worked 16 hours a day and did without a lot of things city folk would take for granted. How is that better?"

I guess if you have a govt check to rely on every month, and handouts of food and water, then life on the mesa might not be as hard as it was for Grandma.