(Yeah, another book...)
Add to that the fact that insurance companies
generally charge poor people extra for insurance (at
least, in this hellhole of a state), and if the
vehicle is lost, will only pay you the blue book value
if you're lucky.? Been there.? An old pickup... you
probably will recover only a portion of your yearly
premium.
The corporations assume that if you can't afford
their rates, you can walk or take a bus (never mind
that there are more poor people AWAY from the cities
than within... and bus service doesn't cover most of
this country)!
(The below is for the "blame game" people, Wayne,
who seem to be very common in amateur radio and in
certain.. buildings.? I would admit that maybe
people don't understand how the rest of us are
forced to live and assume that we've got extra money
to spare.? I'm only too used to hearing this stuff
and I know how much it hurts!)
It's also hard to buy "extra" insurance when you
don't have a nice income.? We've been where we had to
make do with "potato and onion soup" for our meals
over several days recently, in trying to have the
money to pay our bills.? That is normal... and things
like food stamps help, although the program is based
on 1960s data and doesn't begin to cover the cost of
food today (add to that the sad fact that when poor
people try to have a decent, balanced diet like
everyone else, people judge them {wrongly} and will
attack them - even to their face in line!)
Another tidbit - the person being attacked might be
disabled, and most very real disabilities are not
'visible'.? A recent news article was revealing - only
23.7% of people with disabilities have been able to
hold a full time job for more than one year.? The ADA
isn't working as it should - it's being used more to
provide tax breaks for corporations rather than
getting people gainfully employed!? They may be trying
to survive on very little - and having extra cash to
buy more insurance... not a possibility.
Another tidbit - most homeless people are young
families, not the lazy drunk or doper that is the
stereotype.? People who are homeless and used drugs
generally didn't start until after they became
homeless - using drugs was a coping mechanism to deal
with the hellish stigma they experience.? The top ten
reasons for homelessness - the first five are purely
economic (job loss to downsizing or shipped overseas,
hour or wage reduction if not outright wage theft, and
so on).? Mental illness... if I remember right, it was
7th.? Drug use or alcoholism was 9th or lower.
In other words, poverty is usually not the result of
personal failings, but usually a social evil caused by
structures and policies.? People who haven't been
there don't understand how rough it can be.
I've noticed a tendency in some of the people on this
blog to blame people who've had a hard time, and to
make suggestions that they may not realize are
insulting.? It's easy to blame the person who had the
problem, and ignore the person who CAUSED the problem.
Anyway, Wayne... it sounds like you've got a pretty
good support base - the reality of poverty in the USA
is that's the only way most poor people survive.? I
was worried about that.
I can suggest a lot of good books (and research
articles) on this subject, but will only mention a
couple:
The Poor Pay More by Caplovitz.? A dated book
from the 60s, but what he writes is still very true
and accurate today.? I've personally witnessed it
numerous times in the last 20 years.
Blaming the Poor by Dr. Susan Greenbaum.? A
recent publication, it explores the reality of poverty
and how we got to where we are in this country today.
Funny thing is that most working poor don't realize
that they ARE poor (until they get hit with something
like a burned truck).? It's not shameful to be poor,
what IS shameful is that the things that would lessen
the problem are strenuously fought against.
Bob
On 5/7/19 4:58 AM, Wayne
Leake wrote:
?Insurance on
older vehicles costs more than the vehicle is
worth, and usually has a high deductible.
?The truck is a
1983
?Had it since
2004.
