Blog 3; Post I: The Business of Poverty

I am to discuss an issue raised in the film, Bill Moyers Journal: The Business of Poverty. (2008).

One of the many realities of being poor is that you'll end up paying for items such as a car, furniture, small appliances at a much higher rate because most of the time poor folks don't have the good credit or cash at hand to purchase these items. If they wait till tax season for their refunds, they still end up paying more in cash because businesses have become privy to this practice and usually jack up their prices during this time. Another option for us poor folk is to fall into the traps of payday loan stores. Which is what most poor people do because the loan store business is a booming and profitable business. According to Business Inside, "In the U.S., 12 million people borrow nearly $50 billion a year through payday loans."
 

The film touches on the issues of how businesses such as payday loan stores and used car dealerships take advantage of the working poor. While I do agree that businesses are founded on the principle to offer customers goods to purchase at a profit for the business; I do not agree that they should target and abuse a certain group of clientele; the working poor.

These businesses take advantage to the point of using unethical practices to lure the customer in and once in the door, hooking them into a purchase with promises of easy credit and affordable payments. It is said that most working poor people lack the proper reading and math skills and comprehension skills needed to fully understand what kind of contract they are signing into. Unfortunately, these business take advantage of these statistics and never explain interest rates, hidden fees, and the rights of the consumer.

 

 

 

•  http://www.businessinsider.com/outrageous-facts-about-payday-loans-2013-10#ixzz2lsxXa8YV
•  If you have time I advise you to watch the Bill Moyers video following this link.  http://video.pbs.org/video/1629435064/