
A new study by the Brookings Institution found that the urban poor pay hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars a year in extra costs for necessities, such as car insurance, home appliances, banking fees and other basics. (NYT link)
NYT:
Study Documents Ghetto Tax Being Paid by the Urban Poor
By ERIK ECKHOLMWASHINGTON, July 18 Drivers from low-income neighborhoods of New York, Hartford and Baltimore, insuring identical cars and with the same driving records as those from middle-class neighborhoods, paid $400 more on average for a years insurance.
The poor are also the main customers for appliances and furniture at rent to own stores, where payments are stretched out at very high interest rates; in Wisconsin, a $200 television can end up costing $700.
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