When the Social Safety Net is Gone for Good,

make way for a return of the poorhouses, especially if you have the likes of nitwit Glenn Beck to advocate for them.

The Poor Pay More

in this no shit, Sherlock, piece in the Washington Post.

Laundromats are a total waste of money and cost far, far more than having a washing machine and dryer at home. But owning a car is absolute key for pulling oneself out of the trap, providing there are decent jobs available. Access to credit may or may not be necessary, but having a car is:

Like food: You don't have a car to get to a supermarket, much less to Costco or Trader Joe's, where the middle class goes to save money. You don't have three hours to take the bus. So you buy groceries at the corner store, where a gallon of milk costs an extra dollar.

A loaf of bread there costs you $2.99 for white. For wheat, it's $3.79. The clerk behind the counter tells you the gallon of leaking milk in the bottom of the back cooler is $4.99. She holds up four fingers to clarify. The milk is beneath the shelf that holds beef bologna for $3.79. A pound of butter sells for $4.49. In the back of the store are fruits and vegetables. The green peppers are shriveled, the bananas are more brown than yellow, the oranges are picked over.

There is nothing worse than having to depend on a bus to get around. It is expensive, inconvenient, and a restriction on your mobility. It stinks, although I realize public transportation should exist where possible.

The Economy

New York faces massive layoffs.
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Naturally as states cut back on budgets, the poor get the short end of the stick.
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