The High Price of Poverty

[Demovictory9]

The High Price of Poverty
By Kate Giammarise

"Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor," wrote novelist and essayist James Baldwin.

Decades later, that's still true: From paying more money every month in rent than you would for a mortgage to paying check-cashing fees because you don't have a bank account, it's still expensive to be poor.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is examining the high cost of poverty in a series of stories this year.


On the bus: Riders who can afford to buy a ConnectCard save money on each bus ride. Riders who cannot afford the ConnectCard pay a higher individual fare in cash.
lpers

At home: Older homes and appliances raise the costs of utilities. Utilities also consume a greater proportion of a impoverished person's income.

https://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/price-of-poverty/

[Anon-C]

1. so true!

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Even ordinary products cost more.

Toilet paper. Individually, each roll can cost up to $1.50, but when a "special" comes for a week, a pack of 12 or 20 can make each roll worth 50 cents.

Coffee. The smaller cans (which keep shrinking) ordinarily cost almost $5.00 and you get about maybe a week out of it. When the same coffee goes on sale, it costs $1.99.

Orange juice. A 59 oz carton (reduced from 64 oz.) costs more than $4.00. When it's on sale, it's 2 for $5.00.


If you have money, you stock up, saving $5.00, $8.00, more . . . . If you're buying stuff as necessary, you lose money every time you spend money.

[Demovictory9]

5. yes. Costco shoppers buy 100s of dollars of goods at a pop. Poor can't afford those savings

[Demsrule86]

3. And many communities use the poor as cash cows with laws designed to raise income so the rich

aren't bothered with higher taxes...for example, in Youngstown Ohio, it is illegal to run out of gas. If you are arrested in Ohio for something or given a ticket, even if the charges are dropped you pay over $100.00 for a traffic offense...God know what you pay for a worse charge. You have to have white curtains in the front of your house. Some communities measure you grass and cut it for you sending you a hefty charge...you pay everything late if poor so you have fees on top of fees ...there are warrants on practically every house in Youngstown.

And the roads are atrocious which cost money. Streets are not cleared as quickly if there is snow...you can't use most bathrooms if you are homeless...but if you pee outside...you will be charged as a sex offender. And the poor are often sent to jail if they can't pay their fees and tickets. Suppose you have house you want to sell to raise cash...there are point of sale inspections and you can't sell without making the repairs or having the buyers agree to make repairs and put the cash for said repairs in escrow...which means in many cases, you can't sell your house. This is why in Cleveland, you can find a house for under $10,000. Point of sale has been ruled illegal where I live 4th amendment violations...but this has been used to screw with poor people...one guy couldn't sell his house to his daughter because of a crack in the driveway. It can only get worse under the right wing courts.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. My experience with traffic law in Ohio

In 2003, I had the misfortune of driving on 80 through Ohio. I was careful not to go even 1 mile mph above the speed limit as I was out-of-state. At a toll booth, the car ahead of me moved halfway out and then counted its change given. No brake, no brake lights. So I didn't realize until too late that this car wasn't moving. And we had a "supermarket parking lot bump". No dent, no ding, no scratching of paint on either of our bumpers. And the guy called the state troopers on me.

So, I was facing a ticket for a "collision". That's an Ohio violation of two cars coming into contact. (There's another ticket if your car touches the side of toll booth.) Made no difference if nobody was injured or no property damage. Your car touched another car, end of story, ticket.

I jawboned with my state troopers. I asked for my options. One of them smiled at me and drawled, "We take credit cards . . . . " Ohio has a nice racket going on.

[Demovictory9]

6. this stuff makes me sick to hear about

[Stuart G]

7. This is a sad and not a new story..1962..Michael Harrington wrote, "The Other America"

About poverty..and its consequences...very sad..

That is 56 years ago. I think I read it in the late 60s...? Yes, we have had, still have, and will always have "poverty".

[dembotoz]

8. Read the poor pay more.... decades ago

Nothing has changed