Why Being Poor is Expensive

Here's an excellent piece - The High Price of Being Poor - that appeared in the LA Times by Matt Fellowes, who is a Fellow at the Brookings Institution (which is next door to where I work this summer). It explains why the poor must often pay more for basic goods and services than other income brackets. It also provides evidence that the poor cannot simply "work hard and save money" to get themselves or their families out of poverty. On the other hand, it also recognizes that legitimate businesses face higher costs and lower profits when they operate in poor neighborhoods, and thus there is no silver bullet to end poverty.