Poor in the Suburbs
There’s an interesting report on Newsweek about how poverty has come to the suburbs. Sad, yet really not surprising.
Poverty happens, even to people who were previously doing well. Medical problems are a major cause, along with job loss. It’s just that now things are coming to light about how much of a problem it’s becoming in suburban areas where there’s less support for the poor.
A part of the problem has more to do with the nature of how neighborhoods age. Used to be that moving to the suburbs was a way to get out of the city. So you had more prosperous people moving out there. But as time goes on the homes age, lives change and poor people appear. Suddenly you have poor people just scraping by living next to families who are still quite well off.
It’s tough these days for a lot of families. It’s not just the people who already who have homes in the suburbs who are struggling with poverty. It’s the people who have found out that buying a home or even a condo is completely out of the question because property taxes have gone so high. The cost of buying a home has gone up much too quickly.
Now, some people are poor yet still have no sense about their money. It’s another part of the problem. You know the sort. They drive expensive cars, have the latest gadgets yet have trouble feeding their families. Many would have a much easier time if they didn’t feel the need to buy, buy, buy.
I can get away with saying that. My family has one car because we couldn’t afford to fix mine when it broke down. So we’re making do with one. Yes, despite being above the official poverty level, I’d call us awfully close to poor. I can look and say people have problems with their priorities, and that’s a part of the problem. And no, our other car isn’t an SUV or anything expensive. It’s a 2001 Saturn SC1 or something like that. Never can keep the Saturn names straight. Paid off. Very small for a family of 4.
Seeing poverty spread to the suburbs just isn’t a surprise to me. Money problems can happen to anyone. I don’t expect a miracle cure for it. Just about anyone can find themselves poor. The interesting part is how they handle it.
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