Paying for Being Poor

Posted on Jul 19, 2006

A new study by the Brookings Institution found that the urban poor pay hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars a year in extra costs for necessities, such as car insurance, home appliances, banking fees and other basics. (NYT link)

NYT:
Study Documents ‘Ghetto Tax’ Being Paid by the Urban Poor
By ERIK ECKHOLM

WASHINGTON, July 18 — Drivers from low-income neighborhoods of New York, Hartford and Baltimore, insuring identical cars and with the same driving records as those from middle-class neighborhoods, paid $400 more on average for a year’s insurance.