The High Costs of Being Poor in America

In the United States, it's a contradictory fact of life: the poorer you are, the more likely it is that you'll actually have to pay more for an assortment of services than better-off Americans.

Although poverty is not solely a problem for African Americans, it affects a far larger percentage than other races; while 13% of white Americans are impoverished, 35% of blacks are. Although the cause of this impoverishment is widely debated, it's hard to argue that it's not caused largely by the aftereffects of our nation treating an entire race first as property, and then as second-class citizens for the large majority of our history.

Whatever the cause, it's easy to assume that someone in poverty is there only by personal choice; there are plenty of opportunities and programs to help poor people get back on their feet in the United States, right? Even if so, it's hard to ignore the high costs that come along with poverty: costs that undeniably do make it more difficult for a poor person to get out of poverty.

Take, for example, the mere ability to access your own money. While most Americans have bank accounts and can direct deposit their paychecks, many who are poor do not have this opportunity. Whether they do not live near a bank, or they were denied an account by the bank because of a poor credit history, poor people must instead pay to cash their checks at a variety of for-profit businesses. Even if a person in poverty has a bank account, they may have to pay monthly fees if they don't keep enough money in their account.

Another example relates to those who are arrested. If they are taken to jail, in most cases, they must meet bail in order to be released before trial. This bail amount ensures that they will show up for trial. While those with well-off families can typically easily meet the bail amount, impoverished people must rely on bail bonding companies. For a fee, the company will help the person in custody get released. If the person shows up for their trial, the fee is returned. Richer people who use their own money to post bail end up paying nothing. Those who use bail bonding companies, however, never get their upfront fees returned to them. Even if they are innocent, poor people must pay a bail company only for being accused of committing a crime.

The list continues: food tends to cost more in lower-income neighborhoods. The cost of paying to do laundry quickly adds up, as does the cost of depending upon public transportation. Emergency loans cost more for those with poor credit. Although in the long term it could save them money, insurance is seen as a luxury to many poor Americans, who choose instead to use their income to put food on the table every week.

Whatever the cause of this systematic poverty, the fact remains: the mere cost of existing is larger for poor Americans, a disproportionate number of whom are African Americans.


Sources:

• Kaiser Family Foundation: Poverty Rate by Race/Ethnicity
• Philip Bump: The Source of Black Poverty Isn't Black Culture, It's American Culture
• DeNeen L. Brown: The High Cost of Poverty: Why the Poor Pay More
• Adam Liptak: Illegal Globally, Bail for Profit Remains in U.S.