May 20, 2009

This week's must-read comes from...

...of all places, the Washington Post. DeNeen L. Brown's article on how expensive it is to be poor paints a vivid picture of financial barriers and inequities that those of us who are not poor rarely see.

1 comment:

  1. MikeQMay 22, 2009 at 10:47 AM

    Its a good article Steve. I wholeheartedly agree something needs to be done to make it easier for people to move out of poverty.

    Certainly a complex issue. Crime is a major factor. We could get into a chicken or the egg type argument here, but the fact is high crime areas make running an honest business and providing services difficult.

    Every responsible business avoids risk, attempts to reduce their exposure or compensates with higher pricing. Where I work, we run credit checks and require downpayments or full payment as a way to reduce our exposure. We will not work with people who have not paid us or were impossible to make happy with previous orders.

    The business owners in high crime areas are taking on greater risk with the location of their businesses. If they can not make up for the higher costs associated with their location, they would need to shut down.

    The inability for honest business to operate also leaves an opening for unscrupulous business owners to move in and take advantage of the situation. Unfortunately laws aimed at regulating these unscrupulous businesses usually end with them shutting down along with honest businesses needing to factor in risk. The end result is fewer businesses able to provide products and services.

    I'm not offering solutions here, just the point of view on why this problem exists from the view of someone familiar with the situation honest business owners face.

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