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The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaA Fair Shot...This post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. Thank you! And a hearty “thank you” to my latest free and paid subscribers—I appreciate your support!UAW workers strike for “a fair shot” — Dec. 10, 1945: In Detroit, striking UAW members, carrying windblown signs, hunch into their overcoats as they picket in front of the General Motors Building, which is decorated for Christmas. Walter P. Reuther Library, Archives of Labor and Urban Affair...2025-01-2309 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Poverty Trap's Most Popular Posts: 2024This post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership for 2025. Thank you!Credit: UnsplashThe Poverty Trap’s three most popular posts in 2024 have a common theme: By one method or another, America’s economic system is “rigged” in favor of the wealthy and against the poor and middle class. The “rigging” I’ve discussed on The Poverty Trap during the last three-plus years, and in these three posts specifically,, includes the i...2025-01-0711 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaIs Scrooge Our New Role Model? Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and A Happy Holiday Season All Around! ‘The name Scrooge has become a synonym for a misanthrope. He treats his employee terribly, disdains those less fortunate than him and turns away those collecting donations for the poor. His sole concern is his own material enrichment.” The New York Times, Opinion, Roger Rosenblatt, December 24, 2024.Just imagine that Ebenezer Scrooge had as many employees as, say, Jeff Bezos, founder and largest shareholder of Amazon, and imagine that Bezos treated all of his employees just as badly as Scro...2024-12-2911 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaWhat Does An Informed Electorate Look Like?This post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. Thank you!Area on The National Mall and Memorial Parks, District of Columbia, late October 2024. Photo Credit: Joan DeMartin“For more than 200 years, the National Mall has symbolized our nation and its democratic values, which have inspired the world. The National Mall - the great swath of green in the middle of our capital city and stretching from the fo...2024-11-2011 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Incredible Shrinking Middle ClassThis post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. Thank you!“For many Americans, the middle class is a matter of identity, aspiration and lifestyle as much as it is about wealth.” NPR, July 7, 2016.I wrote this post just about a year ago because I was concerned about the erosion of our country’s middle-class households, and it remains a problem today as the financial inequality gap grows wider...2024-10-3112 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Strange Correlation Between Vaccination Rates and Political Parties...This post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and enjoy our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. Thanks in advance for your financial support of my work —it’s what allows me to keep researching and writing!Graph courtesy of Gallup, from its article titled: “Far Fewer in U.S. Regard Childhood Vaccinations as Important: Decline occurs among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents”, August 7, 2024.‘Tis the season! It’s both vaccination time and our once in four years’...2024-10-2111 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaOhio's Governor On Pet Eating...And The Demonizing of ImmigrantsThis post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. Thanks in advance for your financial support of my work —it’s what allows me to keep researching and writing!After the City of Springfield, Ohio received over thirty bomb threats requiring the evacuation of government buildings and schools, and the cancellation of in-person classes at Wittenberg University, six Ohio lawmakers requested emergency law enforcement funding from U.S. Atto...2024-09-3009 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaGenerational Wealth Has Always Been An Unacknowledged Form Of Affirmative Action...This post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. Thanks in advance for your financial support of my work —it’s what allows me to keep researching and writing!“[Vice President Kamala Harris] understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth”.You can listen to the former First Lady’s barn-burner of a DNC s...2024-09-2010 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaIs The U.S. Economy "Rigged" In Favor Of The Wealthy & Against The Poor & Middle Class?I have been inspired by many of the speakers at the Democratic National Convention this week and was particularly taken with Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s discussion of inequality. The line that rang true for me and millions of others is likely to be remembered for a long time:Harris “understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward,” Obama said. “We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth.I'll explore this topic and the power of her words in a separate post deserving of its importan...2024-08-2312 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaRents Are Still Rising, Corporate Landlords Are Getting Richer And Tenants Are Getting...Sicker?“The more you pay in rent, the more likely you are to have bad health and die earlier, a recent study found…The study, called "The impacts of rent burden and eviction on mortality in the United States," was published in the journal "Social Science and Medicine" in January [2024] . To reach their findings, researchers studied 38 million eviction records from 2000 to 2019.” Columbus Dispatch, February 18, 2024Stress can make you physically and mentally ill. Living in poverty is exceedingly stressful, whether it results from allocating too much of your income to rent or mortgage payments, losing your job, applying for govern...2024-08-0810 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaRed States Continue To Turn Down Federal Money, And Their Residents Suffer Because Of It.The data on the color-coded map below is taken from the USDA which runs the EBT (food stamp) program, including the special, Summer EBT program implemented this year for the first time. The funds for this new program, that helps feed children in poverty during the summer months, comes from The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, signed by President Biden in late 2022, separately from the omnibus budget bill.“Almost 70 percent of House Republicans represent districts where the median income is lower than the national median, according to researchers at the University of So...2024-07-2311 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaA Holiday & Weekend Reading List...This post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. Thanks in advance for your financial support of my work —it’s what allows me to keep researching and writing!And a HUGE THANK-YOU to the flurry of new paid subscribers I’ve had recently! Your financial support lifts me up and keeps me writing!I put together a few articles for your reading and learning pleasure this holiday weekend, and shocki...2024-07-0510 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaAre You An ALICE?“ALICE” is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed, and represents the growing number of families who are unable to afford the basics of housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and technology…The ALICE research quantifies and describes the number [four in ten] of households that are struggling financially…[and] raises awareness about a huge but hidden segment of our community that is struggling to afford basic necessities.”To help lift the approximately 13% of our people out of poverty and to help the additional 29% of ALICE households who are struggling to pay their bills each month, our elec...2024-06-2809 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaElite College Admissions May Be Based More On Wealth Than Brains...“For applicants with the same SAT or ACT score, children from families in the top 1 percent were 34 percent more likely to be admitted than the average applicant, and those from the top 0.1 percent were more than twice as likely to get in.” The New York Times, July 24, 2023.Maybe it’s because I still carry a chip on my shoulder that the recent report from researchers at Opportunity Insights, struck a disillusioning chord with me. I managed to attended a perfectly good public university, but as a teenager, I had grander plans for myself and my educat...2024-05-2915 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaPresident Biden And Poverty:The Works Progress Administration (WPA) is one of the many programs President Franklin Roosevelt funded to put people back to work and pull the U.S. out of the Great Depression. The WPA was funded by the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act signed in 1935, two years after Roosevelt was sworn in as president. It put to work over 8.5 million people on 1.4 million public projects like “creating parks, and building roads, bridges, schools and other public structures”.Nearly a century after the Great Depression and despite pushback from close to half of our elected officials, our government continues its inve...2024-05-1611 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThis Is What We Choose To Preserve...”The U.S. Interior Department on Friday [April 19, 2024] essentially rejected the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority’s proposal to build the Ambler Road, a 211-mile industrial road that would have cut through Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve to access copper and zinc deposits in Northwest Alaska…the Biden administration said the road, also known as the Ambler Access Project, would cause irreparable damage to wildlife including caribou, which many local people rely on for food. The administration also announced stronger protections for 13 million acres inside the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a vast swath of oil-rich — but environm...2024-04-2913 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaA Robust Industrial PolicyThis post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. Thanks in advance for your financial support of my work —it’s what allows me to keep researching and writing. And thanks to all the new, paid yearly subscribers who signed up during our winter sale! You are appreciated!“Industrial policy” in its broadest sense refers to the deployment of policy tools with the intent of influencing how we create value—what goods...2024-04-1513 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaA Few Weekend Readings: (Somewhat) Good Climate News, Dollar Stores Are Closing, and Medicaid Takes Your Home Post-MortemThis post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. Thanks in advance for your financial support of my work —it’s what allows me to keep researching and writing. And thanks to all the new paid yearly subscribers who signed up during our winter sale! You are appreciated!“US President Joe Biden is proposing a huge increase in fuel taxes for private jets. It is being pitched as a fairn...2024-03-2410 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaWhat You Need To Know About Your Mortgage Lender & Your Mortgage Servicer...This post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. Thanks in advance for your financial support of my work —it’s what allows me to keep researching and writing. And thanks to all the new paid yearly subscribers who signed up during our winter sale! You are appreciated!“Many first-time home buyers don’t realize that the lender that approves their mortgage could turn around and sell the servicin...2024-03-1310 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaIs The U.S. Economy "Rigged" In Favor Of The Wealthy & Against The Poor & Middle Class?“When asked what drives the economy, many Americans have a simple, single answer that comes to mind immediately: “greed.” They believe the rich and powerful have designed the economy to benefit themselves and have left others with too little or with nothing at all.” The New York Times, February 21, 2024I was checking out at a grocery the other day during a time when almost no other customers were in the store. While the cashier was scanning my eight cans of a rare brand of cod pate (for my elderly cat), she was chatting with two...2024-02-2812 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaWhere Climate Change Meets Gentrification...This post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. But wait, there’s a sale going on at The Poverty Trap! For all NEW yearly Suscribers and NEW founding members, you will get 20% off if you sign up today through February 29, 2024. Thanks in advance for your financial support of my work —it’s what allows me to keep researching and writing.Trailer for “Razing Liberty Square”, a documentary directed by Academy-Aw...2024-02-0614 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaA Round-Up Of Positive News, Part II:Here’s to A Happy and Healthy New Year to you and yours! Thanks so much for your support, and I hope you continue to enjoy The Poverty Trap in 2024.This post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. By the way, our annual sale continues through January 14, 2024—see details at the end of this post!“It’s the economy, stupid.” James Carville, presidential candidate Bill Clinton’s...2024-01-0513 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaA Round-Up Of Positive News Part I: The EnvironmentThis post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership. Holiday Sale! From today through Sunday, January 14, 2024, I’m offering a 20% discount for all new, yearly subscribers (including founding member subscribers!). That means for $40 (or $80 for a founding member), you can support The Poverty Trap for a full year and receive compelling analysis of the politics and policy choices affecting poverty issues in the United States. You’ll receive a full post with audi...2023-12-2713 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaMedical Debt Is Crushing Millions Of Americans, Part IICNBC video on medical debt posted on January 23, 2023. It is well worth your 10 minutes and 39 seconds to watch…“Neither medical bills nor medical debt should exist in the United States in the twenty-first century. We do not need health insurance of any kind or cost, what we need is quality health care. If you are not wealthy enough to pay the exorbitant costs to for-profit companies to keep you alive and relatively healthy, you are punished with debt, bankruptcy and even your life or those of your loved ones.” The Poverty Trap: Why The Poor Stay Poor In Ame...2023-12-1413 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaPrivate Health Insurers Routinely Deny Potentially Life-Saving Treatments To Cut CostsThis post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership.By the way, a few days ago, I cross-posted to my subscribers an invigorating discussion I had with Carrie Lou Hamilton, author of the really cool Substack newsletter, Pen In Fist, but I understand that this cross-post did not reach all of my subscribers. There is both a podcast and transcription, so you can enjoy it both ways! Have a listen and/or...2023-12-0214 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Latest Trend: Live In Your Car, Parking Lot Provided.“The car, her biggest investment, became her home — the roof turned into a dining table, the trunk a closet. And a weathered stretch of blacktop provided by a Methodist church became her yard, her neighborhood and her safe place.” Note: “Her” is Chrystal Audet, a social worker with a full-time job living in her car in Kirkland, Washington, and shadowed by a New York Times reporter for this story. The New York Times, October 17, 2023It’s called “vehicle residency”, and it’s increasing across the country. In fact, 2022 Housing and Urban Development (HUD) data show that nea...2023-10-3010 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaHigher Education Should Lead To More Than A JobThis post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership.“During the past decade, the study of English and history at the collegiate level has fallen by a full third. Humanities enrollment in the United States has declined over all by seventeen per cent, Townsend [Robert Townsend, the co-director of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Humanities Indicators project] found…And American scholars…have begun to wonder what it might...2023-10-1812 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaAre First-Time Home Buyers Shut Out Of The Market?Friendly Reminder: This is the first post under this newsletter’s new name, The Poverty Trap: Why The Poor Stay Poor In America, and the new url is povertytrap.substack.com (Previously, Crime and Punishment: Why The Poor Stay Poor In America) Your transition to the new url will be automatic! See my last post explaining the name and url change here.And…This post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid...2023-10-0108 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaChange Is A Comin'...I used the above photo in my first post for this newsletter on September 15, 2021, and a few other times in various posts in the last two years. I’m celebrating my second anniversary of writing Crime and Punishment: Why The Poor Stay Poor In America along with the Autumn Equinox with today’s post, and I thought it might add a bit of nostalgia to include this photo again. Besides, I love the silvery, shimmering look of olive tree leaves—it’s visible from any angle and looks especially striking on a sunny day.On a more p...2023-09-2405 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Incredible Shrinking Middle ClassThis post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership.“For many Americans, the middle class is a matter of identity, aspiration and lifestyle as much as it is about wealth.” NPR, July 7, 2016.I don’t have foolproof answers to the questions posed in this post’s subtitle: “where has our middle-class gone and can we get it back”, but I will provide a bit of history a...2023-09-1712 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In America"Unity Is Strength"Crime and Punishment: Why the Poor Stay Poor in America explores how our laws and culture create a cycle of economic, racial and environmental inequality...and what together, we can do to change it.This post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, but if you are not already a paid subscriber and value this effort and our growing community, please consider upgrading to a paid membership.Bread and Roses Strike, 1912 . Photo Credit: New England Historical Society“A movement to weaken American child labor protections at th...2023-09-0608 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaInflation Is Going Down, Food Prices Continue To Rise — Get full access to The Poverty Trap at povertytrap.substack.com/subscribe2023-08-2113 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaPredatory Home BuyersIf you can afford it and are in the mood, why not…“Pain is always a form of motivation,” the training manual reads. “Once you find the Seller’s pain, you have a much better chance of buying the house.” ProPublica article, May 11, 2023, documenting its investigation into “We Buy Ugly Houses” and its corporate owner, HomeVesters of AmericaI’ve written about predatory business practices several times before on Crime and Punishment, but usually focused on the companies that lend money, like Pay Day lenders as one example. Their bus...2023-08-1014 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaAre For-Profit Health Insurance Providers Denying You Federally Funded Health Care?Although this post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, if you are not already a paid subscriber, why not take the opportunity to upgrade to paid, right here and now. Thanks!“Private health insurance companies paid by Medicaid denied millions of requests for care for low-income Americans with little oversight from federal and state authorities, according to a new report by U.S. investigators…” The NewYork Times, July 19, 2023Generally, I am against what is broadly called “privatization”:Privatization is the transfer of decision making authority, delivery, or financing from a public t...2023-07-2612 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaPedestrian Deaths Are SoaringAlthough this post goes out to both free and paid subscribers, if you are not already a paid subscriber, take the opportunity to upgrade to paid, right now.“City planners must recognize that we all should be able to walk or ride a bicycle through our own neighborhood without fearing for our life.” The New York Times, April 26, 2023.In the last few months, every news outlet has been writing about the alarming rise in pedestrian deaths—it almost has become a “thing”. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) cha...2023-07-1510 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaReflections On Why The Poor Stay Poor In AmericaPresident Reagan touted Florence Owens Thompson, the migrant mother in the photo, when she died in 1983:“Mrs. Thompson's passing represents the loss of an American who symbolizes strength and determination in the midst of the Great Depression.”In fact, Florence Owens Thompson’s heritage was Native American (Cherokee), and by written accounts, she lived in abject poverty at least for most of her life—at her death, money was donated by “well-wishers” for her medical bills and funeral expenses. President Reagan’s statement is a myth that still persists today — we con...2023-07-0111 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaNoise Pollution Affects Nearly Everyone“In a Clean Air Act overview report published by the EPA, the fact that we can't “see, taste or smell” sounds may explain why it has not received as much attention as other types of pollution, like air pollution. We are constantly surrounded by noise, yet many of us are unaware of the danger environmental noise poses to our health.” Environmental Health Sciences Center at UC Davis, March 3, 2023Those of us who have lived in urban areas most of our adult lives have learned to accept the human-made noise that envelops us. While our brain...2023-06-1907 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaDoes Remote Work Shift The Balance Of Power From Your Boss To You? Maybe.“C.E.O.s may rant about lazy or (per Musk) “immoral” workers who don’t want to go back into their cubicles, but the purpose of an economy is not to make bosses happy.”Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning economist and NY Times opinion columnist. NY Times May 22, 2023I read Krugman’s Times op-ed a few days ago and have been thinking about it ever since. He discusses a few ways remote work impacts our economy, focusing primarily on the reduction in commuting time, and how that impacts both the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and perhaps more...2023-05-2911 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaIt Can Be A Full Time Job To Get Your Unemployment BenefitsPhoto: Library of Congress. Some of the first recipients wait to receive [unemployment] benefits at the State Employment Service in San Francisco, California, 1938. Marketplace, 2020Last week, I wrote a post critical of how the unemployment compensation system is being administered, particularly the expansive leeway given to states, and the disparity in the amount and distribution of benefits that result. Today, I’d like to share my recent experience with the unemployment system in Ohio to better illustrate the frustration and specific roadblocks anyone can face when they attempt to access government help....2023-05-1311 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Unemployment Compensation System Lets Too Many People Fall Through The Cracks...The federal law establishing unemployment compensation was part of the 1935 bill signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt which created the Social Security system. It was designed not just to pull our economy out of the Great Depression, but to provide a safety net going forward for average working Americans, specifically when things got economically tough through no fault of their own. Unemployment Compensation helps those of working age who are temporarily out of a job, and Social Security provides a cushion for those over 65, who are no longer employed.And if you are...2023-05-0310 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaWork Requirements For Food & Medicaid BenefitsEarlier this week, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, gave a speech at the New York Stock Exchange where he discussed (in incredibly vague terms) the Republican party’s proposal to raise the debt ceiling so our country doesn’t default on its financial obligations. This proposal is conditioned with all sorts of budget cuts, including repealing parts of the Inflation Reduction Act; for example, rescinding $80 million in IRS funding to target auditing of the wealthy and large corporations, and certain green energy subsidies. It also imposes additional work requirements on those who alre...2023-04-2210 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaDo Older Americans Have A Harder Time Getting A Mortgage?“In February, Natee Amornsiripanitch, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, published an analysis of more than 9 million mortgage applications collected through the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act from 2018 to 2020. He found that rejection rates rose steadily with age, particularly accelerating for applicants over 70.” The New York Times, April 8, 2023The reason mortgage rejection statistic rates for older Americans are important to explore is because of the dichotomy between what the law says, specifically in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), and what actually happens when lenders look at an application. The ECOA proh...2023-04-1409 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Cost of Borrowing Is Sky High“ …Cards with the highest value rewards are often available only to the rich. First, you’ll need a credit score of at least 700 to qualify for a premium card. That eliminates half the country….Second, issuers consider your income and debt-to-income ratio, which can be used to disqualify card applicants with high credit scores.” The New York Times, March 4, 2023(Thanks to Jan Peppler, PhD, who writes the fabulous newsletter, Finding Home for sending me this article!)There are a good number of both esteemed economists and elected officials who disagree with the Federal Reserve’s...2023-03-3011 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaTaxes and Poverty“IRS Audits Poorest Families at Five Times the Rate for Everyone Else." Based on IRS data reported to The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) for FY 2021 I’m not going to comb the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code for each section that hurts the poor or benefits the rich, because that would, well, take too long. But I will explore a few areas of the tax code that don’t seem to have a logical rationale behind them, meaning to evenhandedly maximize revenue for the treasury, rather than a seeming predilection to punish those who make t...2023-03-2213 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaCondominium Deconversion“A condo deconversion is a real estate transaction in which a savvy investor acquires an entire condo building through a bulk sale to turn into rentals. This investment trend has been seen in Florida and California for a number of years and is picking up steam in other coastal metros and even in the Midwest.” Forbes, July 22, 2019It is startling for someone like me, who has never been a part of a for-profit business, to see the word “savvy” used to describe a real estate investor who buys a condominium complex with the sole purpose to chang...2023-03-0709 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaOhio's Toxic Train Derailment“Three weeks after the toxic train derailment in Ohio, an independent analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data has found nine air pollutants at levels that, if they persist, could raise long-term health concerns in and around East Palestine…The analysis by Texas A&M University researchers stands in contrast to statements by state and federal regulators that air near the crash site is completely safe, despite residents complaining about rashes, breathing problems and other health effects.” The Washington Post, February 24, 2023East Palestine, Ohio, a small town of about 5,000 residents, is a stone’s throw from the Penn...2023-02-2813 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaHow Big Corporations Keep Us Poor...“They [Researchers for the Oxford Review of Economic Policy] find that monopolistic pricing takes a bite out of every income group’s share of national income, with the notable exception of the top 20 percent, whose incomes rise. In effect, companies are using their market power to extract wealth from poor and middle-class households and deposit it in the pockets of the wealthy, to the tune of about 3 percent of national household income in 2016.” The Washington Post, 2018Jane Fonda’s Workout book, a 1981 classic that assumed Biblical status with me, didn’t just talk about exercise, but the be...2023-02-1012 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaWhite Collar Crime“The Biden administration is prioritizing the investigation and prosecution of corporate crime and is giving DOJ prosecutors broader power to do so.” The National Law Review, November, 2021Unless it’s a major Ponzi scheme, we don’t hear too much about what has been dubbed “white collar crime”. And that’s a shame, because it costs its victims and the American taxpayers between $300 and $800 billion a year according to FBI estimates. On the other hand, “street crime”, anything from petty theft to crimes that involve violence and/or loss of life we hear about daily, especially with to...2023-01-2509 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaCritical Thinking“Critical thinking” is a term thrown around so much it has become almost meaningless. It is embedded deep into the Common Core State Standards for public schools across the nation, which set standards for English and math. And it is discussed in countless articles by educators and for educators that attempt to evaluate and then decide how our students learn. Despite this talk, however, it also is estimated that only 1 in 10 instructors actually teach critical thinking skills. Get full access to The Poverty Trap at povertytrap.substack.com/subscribe2023-01-1511 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaCreating Increased "Fairness" In Our EconomyThis 30 minute documentary prepared by the “Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth” House Select Committee of the 117th Congress seems to suggest there are ways to close the income and wealth gap and help our economy bend toward fairness. Warning: Some of the proposals include government-sponsored programs!While the committee did prepare a robust report of it’s accomplishments, it also produced this documentary as a way to touch more people, in ways that statistically produced data illustrated on nifty charts and graphs simply cannot: by focusing on individual stories (in this case three Americans), who su...2023-01-0807 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Poetry of Divisive Concepts“…our founding concept of universal equality, in a country where one-fifth of the population was enslaved, led to an increase in racial prejudice by creating a cognitive dissonance — one that could be resolved only by the white citizenry’s assumption of Black inferiority and inhumanity. It’s an unsettling idea, that the most revered ideal of the Declaration of Independence might be considered our original divisive concept.” The New York Times, 2021I’m resisting the typical end-of-the-year round-up: posts I’ve written, topics we’ve discussed in the last year. Instead, I’ll focus on one word, one idea t...2023-01-0210 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Cost of Prescription Drugs Is Over The Top...“Research and development is only about 17 percent of total spending in most large drug companies,” he [Gerard Anderson, professor of health policy and management at John Hopkins University], says. “Once a drug has been approved by the FDA, there are minimal additional research and development costs so drug companies cannot justify price increases by claiming research and development costs.” Qtd. in a 2019 CNBC article.I’d like to continue the conversation from a recent post that focused on why millions of us carry medical debt in the United States. It makes sense, then, to drill down on th...2022-12-1508 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaMedical Debt Is Crushing Millions of AmericansIt’s easy to think that if you have health insurance, you will not have medical bills to pay out of pocket — that’s why you’re paying those hefty premiums, right? Unfortunately, medical bills, regardless of insurance coverage, often turn into medical debt. Get full access to The Poverty Trap at povertytrap.substack.com/subscribe2022-12-0310 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaUrban Sprawl With Little Regulation“…what looks like sprawl is healthier for the middle class and conforms to what most families want anyway.”Joel Kotkin, CEOof a Houston-based think tank called “Urban Reform Institute”. The New York Times, Sept. 4, 2017, one week after Hurricane Harvey struck HoustonHouston isn’t the only city in the U.S. with urban sprawl, but it is known in some circles as a “model” city for rapid, supposedly inexpensive housing growth unencumbered by zoning laws or environmental concerns. Like Mr. Kotkin stated above, many believe it is the housing of the future: thousands of individual, i...2022-11-1707 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThere's Still Time...I believe I can speak for Bella (she’s napping at the moment), when I say this : We have never understood why citizens of the United States choose not to vote. We are fortunate to live in a participatory democracy, at least for the time being, and that good fortune comes with some responsibilities. Perhaps the most important of those responsibilities is to research the issues and the candidates running during each election cycle and then VOTE. That’s why every campaign has a rigorous “Get Out To Vote” (GOTV) effort, so if you’ve been getti...2022-11-0804 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaAre Secret Algorithms Responsible For Your Rent Hike?“Between soaring prices and rising rates, the typical home buyer in October paid 77 percent more on their loan, per month, than they would have last year, according to Realtor.com. With a national median asking price of $425,000 and a 10 percent down payment, that works out to an additional $1,117 every month.” The New York Times, November 4, 20222022-11-0607 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaIs A Small Western Town An Anomaly Or Prediction?Income and wealth inequality is a “thing” now. Most people know how obscenely rich the rich have gotten, how the middle class is nearly eliminated and the working poor have increased threefold in the last few decades. I’ve also written about income and wealth inequality a few times before on Crime and Punishment because it’s a trend we have to question and understand in order to fix. It is not a good thing. Get full access to The Poverty Trap at povertytrap.substack.com/subscribe2022-10-2206 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaGrants For Artists And Others“President Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget builds upon the administration’s previous historic investments in the arts and recognizes the critical role of the National Endowment for the Arts in supporting American communities,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) statement on this administration’s 2023 budget , proposing $203.55 million for the continued support of the NEAI’m veering slightly off topic for today’s post…maybe. But if you are a talented artist (this means you, writers!) but struggling financially, or even doing well, but want to take your career...2022-10-0311 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaCelebrating One Year of Crime and Punishment“We are all just walking each other home.” Ram DasI can’t tell you (but I’m going to try), how thrilled I am to have found Substack, a unique and welcoming platform for writers, and that I decided to create Crime and Punishment: Why the Poor Stay Poor in America and publish my first post one year ago yesterday. I have been incredibly grateful for your interest and support over this last year—thank you! See the multiple book giveaway for new paid subscribers at the end of this post!2022-09-1710 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaWhy Are The Number of Car Crashes Going Up?“The Transportation Department is embarking on a national strategy to tackle rising traffic fatalities using new funding in the $1 trillion infrastructure law, addressing issues ranging from speed limits and street lighting to emergency medical care.” The New York Times, January 2022It’s not just automobile accidents that have risen, particularly in the last few years, it’s fatalities that have soared, too. The Department of Transportation has recognized this trend and has implemented a plan to begin addressing the various underlying causes…whatever those might be. It seems that it’s pure speculation at this point— data...2022-08-2807 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Civilian Climate CorpsOne of the first New Deal programs President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law in the spring of 1933 was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). This voluntary federal program was designed to put young men back to work during the depression, and at the same time, contribute to forest management, flood control, various conservation projects and the development of state and national parks, forests and historic sites. The CCC put over three million men, typically ages 18-25, to work over the course of its nine year run.It brought young men (and only men at the...2022-08-2006 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaMisclassification Of Employees Is Rampant“Misclassification of workers as independent contractors is a pervasive and extensive problem in the United States. According to a report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Labor, as many as 30% of employers, and perhaps more, have misclassified some workers, affecting millions of workers, disproportionately workers of color.” Economic Policy Institute, 2021. The term “misclassification” sounds too much like a euphemism considering what happens to workers when they are wrongly classified as independent contractors, or something less than a full-time or part-time employee. And the word seems to imply that the choice to misclassify is a mistake, when in fact...2022-08-0810 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaRenewable Energy Is NowWhat’s the holdup, then? According to statistics from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in 2021, “…renewable energy sources accounted for about 12.2% of total U.S. energy consumption and about 20.1% of electricity generation.” Although these numbers for our use of renewable energy sources are expected to increase slightly in the next few years, and in the coming decades we are committed to global agreements to reduce our carbon emissions, we’re still way behind most other industrialized countries in our use of renewable resources, like wind, solar and hydro generated power as our sources of energy. (See...2022-07-2708 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaInflation and The Rise in Poverty and Homelessness“Inflation has reached 40-year highs just as many vulnerable families are readjusting to life without a boost from government stimulus or protections to keep them from being evicted.” The Washington Post, July 3, 2022 I’ve written twice previously about inflation and its impact on the poor for Crime and Punishment: How Will Americans Keep a Roof Over Their Heads; and a Crash Course on Inflation. And I’ve probably mentioned it a few more times in other posts because inflation has an outsized impact on those living near the poverty level or pay-check-to paycheck. Not surprisingly, the late...2022-07-1507 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaIt's Your Phone Number—Take It With You“Once you request service from a new company, your old company cannot refuse to port your number, even if you owe money for an outstanding balance or termination fee.” Federal Communications CommissionA huge thank-you to Audrey Hood, Substack’s own reference librarian, for allowing me to guest post on her wonderful newsletter: The Civic Librarian. This post went live on her Substack just a few days ago, and it received such a positive reaction, I thought I’d repost it here. I am thrilled that someone with Audrey’s expertise takes the considerab...2022-07-0708 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaReadings For America's Birthday“I have frequently amused myself both in public and private companies, with silently remarking the spacious errors of those who speak without reflecting.” Thomas Paine from Common SenseMy guess is Thomas Paine is spinning in his grave as he reads social media and the myriad other sources where we get our information these days, and recognizes the millions of Americans who continue to “speak without reflecting”. I’m starting to feel sorry for him. As we attempt to “celebrate” our independence from Britain today, in the midst of our current political turm...2022-07-0408 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaRent-A-Bank Scheme Avoids State Usury Laws“In 42 states and DC, at least one predatory lender is using a rent-a-bank scheme to evade the law and make 100% to 225% APR loans that are illegal in those states.” Americans for Financial ReformWhen we roamed the earth as Neanderthals, our species worried about predators lurking at every turn, wanting to fatten themselves up at our expense. Today, the same dynamic exists, only now the predators are a species known as lending institutions, which have come up with a new scheme: hide behind a few unscrupulous, traditional banks to avoid state usury laws, and charge betw...2022-06-1910 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Marshall Plan: 75 Years LaterOur policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger, poverty, desperation, and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist.” Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, June 1947Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg contributed to the 75th Anniversary celebration of the Marshall Plan, Berlin, Germany, May 2022. Scrolling Twitter, I noticed a recent Tweet touting the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Marshall Plan taking place in...2022-06-0410 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaAre Money Worries Impacting Your Mental Health?“The mental health effects of poverty are wide ranging and reach across the lifespan.” Psychiatric Times, 2018.It has been difficult for me to think clearly this week, let alone write something of importance, that is not about the torrent of gun violence and death we’ve witnessed these last few weeks. (To clarify: we have not just “witnessed it”, many of us have given it the green light either by voting for those who refuse to pass substantial gun restrictions, or not forcing our elected officials to do so through boycotting, protesting and voting them the hell out of off...2022-05-2808 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaA Crash Course In Inflation…In other words, inflation can provide businesses with pricing power and increase their profit margins. If profit margins are rising, it means the prices that companies charge for their products are increasing at a faster rate than increases in production costs. Investopedia, updated 12/2/21.Rising prices are on everyone’s mind right now. Even if you can buy and sell Manhattan, you’re worried that both your purchasing power and your savings are eroding, and you’d be right. I’ve written about the rising cost of certain services, like an Amazon Prime membership, and questioned whether Amazon really had...2022-05-1407 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe History of Earth DayIn some ways, NEPA [the National Environmental Policy Act, January 1, 1970] may turn out to be the most influential of our environmental laws for it not only sets forth our basic national goals for environmental protection, but it also tells us that essential to achieving them is foresight.From the Council on Environmental Quality’s introduction to its tenth annual report, 1980.NEPA has turned out to be an incredibly significant law because it laid out our Country’s vision for how we want to live on the planet, and that vision suddenly included the envi...2022-04-2406 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaIs It Possible To Break The Cycle of Poverty?There are really two questions to ask about poverty: Whether individuals can pull themselves out of poverty in a system set up to punish the poor, not help them; and whether our entire country can greatly reduce or eliminate poverty through government action. I’ve been thinking about these issues lately because I’ve seen an overwhelming number of social media comments, and comments on opinion pieces and longer form articles that rail against even the mere mention of helping the poor. Generally, the comments amount to: “Tell the lazy bums to get a job and stop living...2022-04-1707 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaCollege Students Living In Their Cars“It’s not just about money”“That brings us to the bigger issue. This is not really a debate about fiscal policy. It’s about whether higher education should be a commodity or a public service.”Maggie Astor, The New York Times, 2019Our country has been debating for decades what to do about the rising cost of college tuition, enormous student loan debt, the size of government grants and loans for students and whether to make public, two and four year colleges tuition free. Recently though, President Biden has taken some action. He has to date...2022-04-0309 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Power Of Words“It is the public that is being asked to assume the risks that the insect controllers calculate. The public must decide whether it wishes to continue on the present road, and it can do so only when in full possession of the facts… We still talk in terms of conquest. We still haven’t become mature enough to think of ourselves as only a tiny part of a vast and incredible universe. Man’s attitude toward nature is today critically important simply because we have now acquired a fateful power to alter and destroy nature.” Rachel Car...2022-03-2608 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaAccidental Injury and Death:“More people die by accident today than at any time in American history. The accidental death toll in the United States is now over 173,000 people a year……An accident injures ninety-two people every minute of the year and kills twenty every hour.” From the book: “There Are No Accidents. The Deadly Rise of Injury and Disaster—Who Profits and Who Pays the Price, by journalist, Jessie SingerThe United States is one of the top ten richest countries on Earth (by per capita GDP) and certainly has one of the largest economies by all measures. So why does...2022-03-1908 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaA Windfall Profits Tax There’s an app for that! You can now read Crime and Punishment: Why the Poor Stay Poor In America in the new Substack app for iPhone!With the app, you’ll have a dedicated Inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts will never get lost in your email filters, or stuck in spam. Longer posts will never be cut-off by your email app. Comments and rich media will all work seamlessly. Overall, it’s a big upgrade to the reading experience.The Substack app is...2022-03-1206 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaWhat Poverty Looks Like In America“Big wheels roll through fields Where sunlight streamsOh meet me in a land of hope and dreams” “Land of Hope and Dreams”, Bruce SpringsteenLiving in poverty in our country doesn’t have to look like this photo, although it certainly can, and in fact does, in many of our largest and wealthiest cities. It can be a single mother working a couple of low-wage jobs to pay for a too small apartment and too little food in the fridge. Or your neighbor who lost his job six months ago and can’t find another...2022-03-0505 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaHow Americans Carry Their Debt“The average American has $52,940 worth of debt across mortgage loans, home equity lines of credit, auto loans, credit card debt, student loan debt, and other debts like personal loans.”From the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Household Debt and Credit report, 2021 The joy of living debt free, or perhaps oblivious to debt.I lived for at least a decade oblivious to the debt I was accumulating. It was all neatly swept away each time I refinanced my home mortgage or took out an equity line of credit. Even with several years hindsight, I do...2022-02-2606 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaHow Will Millions Of Americans Keep A Roof Over Their Heads?It’s not good news for renters or potential home buyers right now. Statistics show that across the country in the last 12 months or so: — Rents have risen an average of 40% in some cities, and “According to an analysis conducted by RedFin, rents in the US jumped 14% in December 2021 to $1,877 a month, the largest rise in more than two years.”; — The median home price in the United States, although it varies rather drastically by state, “…was $346,900 in 2021, up 16.9% from 2020, and the highest on record going back to 1999, according to the National Association of Realtors.” ; — Mortgage int...2022-02-1907 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaDo Companies Have To Raise Their Prices?Amazon announced the following in its most recent earnings report: “Amazon is raising the price of its annual Prime subscriptions from $119 to $139 per year in the United States, the company announced along with its earnings report Thursday. The price of a monthly subscription will also increase from $12.99 to $14.99.” And… “The company's profits also doubled during the December-end quarter, to $14.3 billion, blowing past Wall Street analyst expectations.” CNN BusinessNote to readers: “I’ve interrupted my regular writing schedule this week to tend to other writing matters. This post will serve as a combo between my regular weekly...2022-02-1306 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaWealth Tax Versus Philanthropy“Should five percent appear too smallBe thankful I don't take it all'Cause I'm the taxmanYeah, I'm the taxman” Taxman”, George Harrison Enjoy The Beatles playing the full song here: Actually 5% is quite a bit more than Senator Elizabeth Warren originally proposed for a wealth tax on America’s richest: she thinks a 2% tax on all wealth over $50 million dollars per family is enough to fund a good hunk of the planned expenditures of the Build Back Better Bill. Right now, however, a couple of Senators put the kibosh not only on the proposed wealth t...2022-02-0404 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Cruel Cycle of PovertyI wrote this essay a few years ago, and as you can see, it eventually became the basis for this newsletter. I’m publishing it today, with just a few tweaks, because I’ve been off tending to my ailing dog (you’ll recognize his photo below as my crack research assistant for this newsletter), but also to remind my readers and me why I’m writing Crime and Punishment.This essay touches on many of the ideas I have already discussed in individual posts and includes a few scenarios from my perso...2022-01-2910 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaDr. Martin Luther King, Jr.“I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective — the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It isn’t just in January that we should celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., along with a three-day winter weekend and sales using his name in vain. Is it too much to hope that we should all try to honor his legacy daily, by revisiting his words and acti...2022-01-2105 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaSunday Evening Reads“ ‘Humans are vastly more cooperative than most other species.’ Our cultural institutions can reinforce inequality, she said, but they can also fight against it.” Dr. Siobhán Mattison, evolutionary anthropologist at the University of New MexicoI always tend to resent the scientific research conducted on animals, not just the cruel, invasive kind which needs to end, but even basic cognitive research, because the benefit of the results usually accrues to humans. I want the benefits to flow the other way sometimes—how can we help other creatures and their habitats with what we learn fr...2022-01-1705 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Power of UnionsCrime and Punishment: Why the Poor Stay Poor In America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.“From San Diego up to Maine,in every mine and mill,Where workers strike and organizeit’s there you’ll find Joe Hill,it’s there you’ll find Joe Hill!”“Joe Hill”, Date: 1936 ; Composer: Earl Robinson ; Text: Alfred Hayes.Listen to Joan Baez sing “Joe Hill”.This ballad, brought to life with that gorgeous, Baez soprano, still gives me chills. And liste...2022-01-0707 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaWhy Crime and Punishment...“ So what happens? He gets the title shot in the ballpark. What do I get? A one-way ticket to Palookaville.” Terry Malloy, “On the Waterfront”Enjoy the full movie clip here:How can you not love this movie? A regular guy “takes a moral position against his own self-interest”…and wins. In this clip, Marlon Brando’s character, Terry Malloy, is lamenting his lost shot at the title and what he got instead: “A one-way ticket to Palookaville.” (By the way, I’m thrilled to finally be able to put one of my favorite...2021-12-3104 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaCredit Scores:If I may beg your indulgence as the holiday looms… I decided to re-post (with audio this time), a popular piece from October of this year focusing on the Catch-22 of credit scores and the outsized role these made-up numbers have on our lives. I’ll bet many of you are finishing your holiday shopping with a whirlwind of credit card purchases. If you are one of the small percentage of people world-wide who have enough cash on hand to pay your bill in full at the end of each billing cycle, then kudos to you! The rest...2021-12-2411 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaDo We Need A Federal Usury Law?“Usury is the act of lending money at an interest rate that is considered unreasonably high or that is higher than the rate permitted by law. Usury first became common in England under King Henry VIII and originally pertained to charging any amount of interest on loaned funds. Over time it evolved to mean charging excess interest, but in some religions and parts of the world charging any interest is considered illegal.” Investopedia I don’t think that banks or other lending institutions should be banned from charging some intere...2021-12-1807 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaThe Real Welfare QueensThis is the trailer for the PBS film that explores the concept of Corporate Welfare and how it helps corporations to thrive, and allows average working taxpayers to suffer.Crime and Punishment: Why the Poor Stay Poor In America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriberI first heard the words “corporate welfare” when Senator Bernie Sanders was running his first campaign for President in 2015. I had closely followed politics for decades and even worked on a few campaigns, but I neve...2021-12-1005 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaDeceit and Arrogance Dominate the Regulated Community of Polluters“I do care a great deal about the environment but my real work and my greatest challenge is trying to overcome deceits that end up jeopardizing public health and safety.” Erin BrockovichYes, I admire the “real” Erin Brockovich because she’s clearly a fighter, and often put the common good over her own needs. And I love Erin Brockovich the movie because it told the truth. The film and the true story it was based on beautifully captured the deceit that large, powerful companies engage in as a matter of course. And it clearly...2021-12-0309 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaRevisiting My First PostI hope all of you who celebrated Thanksgiving or Indigenous Peoples’ Day… or nothing at all, are happy and content right now. I wanted to take a short break this week, so I thought I would re-share my first post for Crime amd Punishment: Why the Poor Stay Poor in America. This piece is important to me because it lays the groundwork for everything else I’ve written about: a robust support system allows a community, whether it’s in the natural world or a country like ours to do more than exist. It allows each member of that communit...2021-11-2610 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaSocial "Warfare"From the 1972 movie, “The Candidate” Some stories are timeless and resonate hundreds of years later. But why? Is it because the “human condition” doesn’t change, or humans are incapable of real change, or people are just too lazy to break from their patterns, no matter how destructive? For a more optimistic perspective, perhaps these stories tap into universal emotions like love, greed, hate, compassion, and that’s why they resonate through generations. Or maybe it’s both.If you listen to the words in the fictitious candidate’s speech above (Robert Redford as Bill McKay, in one of...2021-11-1905 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaSunday Evening Reads“The best journalists and writers do not simply relay information, their value is in discovering what really matters to people.” Nora EphronI always keep this advice from the late author, Nora Ephron, in mind as I write posts for this newsletter. Although the issues I write about are important to me, it doesn’t mean that I can make it clear why these issues should be important to you and your families. For example, if you are not part of the millionaire and bi...2021-11-1508 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaCommunity Land TrustsHousing for All“In the richest country in the history of the world, every American must have a safe, decent, accessible, and affordable home as a fundamental right.” Senator Bernie SandersRead about the Yellow Springs, Ohio Community Land Trust model here.One of the reasons I started this newsletter is to share with as many people as possible, what I have learned and continue to learn as an “income and wealth-challenged” person. I often say to my friends (or dog or cat, whoever might be available to listen), “Who knows...2021-11-1205 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaSunday Evening Reads“I am glad to approve this legislation which is to be known as the Clean Air Act. It will make possible a national effort to control air pollution, a serious and growing threat to both our health and our safety. Ninety percent of the population of our cities, over 100 million people, already suffer from a degree of air pollution that demands immediate action.”President Lyndon Johnson, speaking after he signed the nations’s first Clean Air Act, December 17,1963. Read the full text of his remarks here.I grew up in Steubenville, Ohio, a small town on the...2021-11-0806 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaEnvironmental Laws Matter“The ultimate test of man's conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.”—Gaylord Nelson (1916-2005), former governor of Wisconsin, founder of Earth Day“Conscience” and “sacrifice” are two concepts that have long seemed in short supply, at least from businesses. It’s not hard to understand why, though, because the bottom line is always money. And more money. And as much short-term profit that a company can extract with the least outlay of, you guessed it, money. On the other hand...2021-11-0508 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaPutting Today's Issues In Historical Context“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” William FaulknerA few days ago, I re-tweeted a piece by longtime contributing editor to Rolling Stone and now fellow Substack writer, Matt Taibbi, who interviewed author and activist, David Sirota, about his new podcast, “Meltdown”:Today, CNN journalist and host of “Reliable Sources”, Brian Stelter, also interviewed David Sirota about his new podcast. Sirota’s “Meltdown” draws a connection —a direct line, really— between the way the Democratic party handled the financial crisis in 2009-2010 when it had the presidency an...2021-11-0105 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaAmerica's Budget Is A Moral Document“How many times must a man look upBefore he can see the sky?Yes, ’n’ how many ears must one man haveBefore he can hear people cry?Yes, ’n’ how many deaths will it take till he knowsThat too many people have died?” Blowin’ in the Wind, Bob DylanListen to “His Bobness” sing the full song here.The words “moral document” have been used plenty of times before to refer to our budget, and most times that use has been focused on how our country allocates funds to help our poorest, versus the money to fund, say...2021-10-2906 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaSunday Evening Reads“The businessman wants to create something for everyone, which leads to products that are middle of the road,”… It becomes about consensus, and that’s why you rarely see the spark of genius.” Robert Brunner, Apple’s director of Industrial design from 1989-1996Sometime in the early 1990’s, I went to a talk hosted by our local Chamber of Commerce, featuring Steve Jobs as the guest speaker. He had been “ousted” as they used to describe it, from the company he founded, Apple Computer, in 1985, and had started a new computer compa...2021-10-2507 min
The Poverty Trap: Why the Poor Stay Poor In AmericaUniversal Basic Income“Universal basic income is not a solution in search of a problem - it is the obvious solution that has been in front of us for years. It only requires us to have the vision, empathy and courage to adopt it for the American people before it is too late.” Andrew Yang“Vision, empathy and courage” are three hefty words when applied to our government, and perhaps their implementation involves more heavy lifting than our elected officials are willing to do. But their meaning embraces what values our government should have, and should use, to create p...2021-10-2207 min