All around us, we are seeing signs that the economy is going south. The dollar is weak. Gas is nearly $4 a gallon here in Idaho. People are losing their homes and those who are selling theirs are having a hard time.
I’ve spotted another sign: checking cashing and high interest loan businesses. My wife and I both work full time jobs. And we have the added income of student loan money. But still times are tough for us. Because I had to take a job living away from the family we have an additional rent cost. And I drive over 30 miles to work every morning. So we have troubles making ends meet. When we find our selves with more month then money, I often find myself noticing all the check cashing places on the boulevard and thinking “there but the grace of God go I,” and worry that God’s grace is going to run out and there I’ll be.
Recently I noticed that there seemed to be an awful lot of these places. So yesterday I drove down the boulevard and counted. I discovered there is a whopping 13 of these businesses in just two miles.
I think that this is a sign of the economy we live in. The cost of my yogurt, milk and gas have gone up, but my earning power has not.
A couple months ago I was with my wife at a debate contest. We sat down at the judges lounge with an acquaintance of hers who travels with the team. I sat uncomfortably through his demeaning talk about the poor clients in his social work and how they take advantage of the system. But then he decided to minimize the pain of the recession by comparing it to the depression. I blew up. People who are comfortable don’t understand the pain lower income people are in as the economy turns south. They don’t understand that the working poor are becoming trapped by the cycle of credit at these predatory lending businesses. 13 of them!
There but by the grace of God go I. These institutions are preying on the working poor. We need to show more compassion for those who are working hard but having trouble making ends meet. I know I’m talking about myself here. But I have also fallen prey to the lure of judging the poor, thinking they are getting a free ride by the system. That they have control of their situation if they would only work hard. It’s not as easy as that. Poverty is a complicated problem. And part of the equation now are these yellow buildings with red trim offering temporary relief at a high interest rate.
1 response so far ↓
1 Steve K // Jun 12, 2008 at 8:10 pm
The real issue is the base prejudice between social classes. The poor are so characterized as “untrustworthy” that everyone accepts that a low income job must be inducted with drug test, while anyone on a “professional” level would be insulted if they had to go through such degrading treatment. We need to think about what the lower class has to go through as if it were a “normal” or middle class person going through it. If it isn’t good enough for the middle class, then it isn’t good enough for the lower class. If it is good enough for the middle class– open access to bathrooms, the ability to eat three times a day, the basic respect of trust until we see a person doing something untrustworthy– then it is good enough for the lower class.
Steve
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