{"id":20186,"date":"2022-12-01T09:00:49","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T14:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=20186"},"modified":"2022-12-01T09:01:06","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T14:01:06","slug":"its-more-expensive-to-live-in-poverty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress-537697-2997182.cloudwaysapps.com\/its-more-expensive-to-live-in-poverty\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s More Expensive to Live in Poverty"},"content":{"rendered":"
On some level, we all understand that it’s more expensive to be poor, but many of us still balk at the concept when it’s laid out plainly like that.<\/span><\/p>\n But think about your own purchasing decisions. At the grocery store, do you ever pay more upfront for a larger package of something that works out to a lower cost per ounce? Do you stock up on sale items and keep them in the freezer until you need them? When you have the means, do you spring for a higher quality item such as shoes or coats so that they last longer, and you don’t have to replace them as often?<\/span><\/p>\n These simple money-saving tactics are out of reach for many of our poorest neighbors, who are forced to pay a higher price more frequently just to maintain access to necessities. That’s why I say it’s expensive to be poor.<\/span><\/p>\n These small differences in costs may not seem that egregious, and maybe for someone with a comfortable income, they’re not worth considering- but to someone relying on meager assistance or the kindness of strangers, every cent counts. Small differences in pricing can add up to a big difference over time. This idea is perfectly summed up by “Boots” theory, a popular example of this phenomenon famously explained in a Terry Pratchett Discworld novel as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0“The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars\u2026”<\/span><\/p>\n “But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while a poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet. This was Captain Samuel Vimes’ ‘Boots’ theory of socioeconomic unfairness.”<\/span><\/p>\n In the example, the rich man with enough resources to buy a more expensive, high-quality item upfront not only has a better outcome for less money, but he also was able to save up an additional $50 to put toward other needs or goals. At the same time, the poor person is stuck in a never-ending loop with nothing to show for it but wet socks.<\/span><\/p>\nSure, But Is It Really\u00a0<\/span>That B<\/span><\/em>ad?<\/span><\/h3>\n