How The Poor Pay More…. Economics Of Poverty 101
“Having Little Money Often Means No Car, No Washing Machine, No Checking Account And No Break From Fees and High Prices” (Via Washington Post)
Click Here To Learn About The Economics Of Povery
Article Introuction (Via DeNeen Brown @ Washington Post)
You have to be rich to be poor. That’s what some people who have never lived below the poverty line don’t understand.Put it another way: The poorer you are, the more things cost. More in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, menace. This is a fact of life that reality television and magazines don’t often explain.So we’ll explain it here. Consider this a primer on the economics of poverty.
Article Excerpts (Via DeNeen Brown @ Washington Post)
You don’t have a car to get to a supermarket, much less to Costco or Trader Joe’s, where the middle class goes to save money. You don’t have three hours to take the bus. So you buy groceries at the corner store, where a gallon of milk costs an extra dollar.
Prices in urban corner stores are almost always higher, economists say. And sometimes, prices in supermarkets in poorer neighborhoods are higher. Many of these stores charge more because the cost of doing business in some neighborhoods is higher. “First, they are probably paying more on goods because they don’t get the low wholesale price that bigger stores get,” says Bradley R. Schiller, a professor emeritus at American University and the author of “The Economics of Poverty and Discrimination.”
“The cheaper housing is in more-dangerous areas,” says Reed, who lives in Southeast Washington. “I moved out of my old apartment. I hate that area. They be walking up and down the street. Couldn’t take the dog out at night because strangers walking up and down the street. They will knock on your door. Either they rob you, kill or ask for money. If you’re not there, they will steal air conditioners and copper. They will sell your copper [pipes] for money.”
