Poverty, An American Crime

Not since the Great Depression has a whole generation of Americans become so destitute. Pay-Day lenders and Credit Card companies continue their onslaught of luring more and more people into situations where inevitably they end up so impoverished it is almost impossible to ever recover financially. It seems that these pay-day advance places and certain credit card issuers have now taken over what was once the domain of the traditional street corner loan shark business. So many now have been caught short in keeping up with trying to pay Peter while taking from Paul to finance everyday living expenses only to be coerced into thinking that taking out a pay-day advance will tide them over until the next pay check. In effect all this does is to incure more financial woe because of the exorbitant amount of interest that is tacked on to the orgional loan, as much as 600%. By the way, a 600% interest rate is legal all through-out the country today.


They say location is everything in business. Well, that is so evident with all the Pay-day advance and quick loans companies sprawled across the country. There are so many of these business cropping up in communities where the population are not that affluent. It is quite apparent that these companies have only targeted these areas rather than opening up in communities where incomes are higher. Just like where lottery tickets are sold and bought. The largest percentage of people who by lottery tickets are by far the ones who can least afford them and the locations where they are sold are more in low income areas. Another sad reality all over the United States are those who rely on food stamps often have to settle on places closer to where they live and so often these stores purposely take advantage by keeping their food prices higher than other stores that are in areas where again income levels are higher.


It is becoming more evident that state legislatures are targeting the poor and less fortunate now more than ever. From Florida to California so many are swept into a cycle of poverty where their chances of ever breaking free are next to impossible. Many employers all over the country keep finding ways to enrich themselves off the backs of their employees. In many cases are supported by the laws that are passed by state legislatures. In Florida and in Texas for instance have long since passed legislation that places the bare minimum protection for employees. A right to work state such as in Florida gives employers Card Blanche in regards to how they treat employees. This right to work status only ensures employer satisfaction while negating the rights of employees.


To rub salt into the wounds of the poor sort of speaking, so often law enforcement have used very aggressive tactics in too many instances in low income areas. It is as though they purposely set out to target low income individuals rather than those who live elsewhere. It is epidemic the number of low income individuals who have been incarcerated for such dastardly of crimes like flicking a cigarette butt. Now you are a hard core criminal for littering. The rationale by states and local officials is to extract hefty fines to make up for all the budget shortfalls. All by targeting individuals whose incomes are so low most often can't pay all the fines anyway, can't post bail to get out of jail, and eventually looses their job by being in jail. All this scenario does is push city and states budgets further in the red just to keep those "hardened criminals" in jail.


With "Wizardly" like acumen our most "benevolent" legislatures have now implemented private companies to take over and run some penal institutions. In many cases now many of these jails are charging the inmates themselves for their own room and board. It is like debtors prison all over again. There is something insidious now about the way being in debt actually can land one in jail today. If a creditor, like a landlord or a credit card company has a court summons issued for you and you fail to show up for your appointment in court a warrant is issued. In too many instances that court summons never reaches the defendant. Just like when someone who misses a payment on their car insurance the insurance industry makes sure the police are notified thereby suspending your drivers license until payment is made. The biggest problem is that you are never notified that your license is suspended and there for you are subject to arrest by virtue of a suspended license. Not only is the insurance industry targeting the poor and pushing thousands into that cycle of poverty but most states are sanctioning that if just one child support payment is missed again just like the car insurance companies the courts now suspend those driver licenses even if just one payment is late. And, again you are never notified until it is too late.


These predatory means of aggressively targeting low income individuals means that more will become trapped in that cycle of poverty. It is the poor that are 100% more likely to be in trouble with the law either by failing to pay a parking ticket or incurring the wrath of a landlord or a private sector creditor. In so many instances in our judicial system guilt is assumed long before innocence is proved. Being poor is now guilt by assumption in every corner through-out the country. Until these predatory practices are eliminated all of which are engineered as a quick fix for budgetary strains in reality do the exact opposite and more individuals will fall victim and land in that vicious cycle of abject poverty. This brings about a domino effect in economic decline that will only continue through-out America.