Profiting From Poverty

The is a warning to all societies which wish to maintain a semblance of civility and intellectual growth. There is an inhuman poison; a beast of sorts; that threatens to erode or utterly destroy everything positive we have strived for as a people.

This evil is the ability to profit from poverty.

Should an unfortunate person find themself in that position, there are predators that will swoop down and render them helpless if they could, and leave them as carrion.

For example; if a person can't afford auto insurance for a month, their rates skyrocket.

If someone gets their car repossessed and can't afford to get it back from the impound, the financier sells it at an auction, and the person who lost it must pay the balance on the loan. So, they are now making payments on something they don't even own anymore...yet they may still have to drive to work.

Every late payment fee and insufficient funds charge is another way to profit from poverty.

These hits can cripple a working person, making them unproductive to society, and thus a burden.

It almost happened to me. The income tax return I was expecting to get me on track financially never came because my own government decided I had to prove I wasn't a liar, even though I had never been shown to be one before. So when I showed them the proof, instead of giving me the money, they randomly chose me two more years in a row to accuse me of being a liar. So, not only have I still not received the $2500 from the first time, but now they're going to rob me of another $2500, even once I send them the proof they need.

This started a metaphoric snowball rolling down the hill that ended with over $1200 in nsf charges, my insurance rates to double, the loss of a freezer full of food, an $11 000 debt from a repossessed car, and a lot of stress. This all because I was layed off from my construction job over the winter.

I'm back to work, with the grey cloud of severe debt shadowing me for years. Many aren't so lucky. Others end up homeless and destitude.

So when I speak of this evil, it is from experience.

It is illogical that a society would allow someone down on their luck, or a victim of circumstances, or even a victim of oppression, to not afford the space to rebound from their loss and regain their productive position in the workworld, and senseless to attack them further.

Is it too bold to say there should be laws in place that prohibit the ability to profit from poverty? Does the bank not have the right to the money they lost in a bad investment, or cost of the process for insuffient funds not get covered? (Truthfully, the idea that auto insurance rates would double because one is poor has me at a loss)

A monkey will never buy a banana, and an oxe has never received a paycheck. What that means is, the idea of a corporation, a business or a government is solely human and is regarded only by people. Therefore, the idea that a business or corporation is a separate entity is bogus. Through their perpetual tenets, they can become perfect, where-as humans aren't perfect. They are succeptable to drawbacks even beyond their control. It is not right to define an entity that does not regard the vulnerabilities of its' makers. Without consideration for who it is supposed to serve, it does not become symbiotic, but rather, a beast running amok.

So while we need legistlation to prevent anyone or anything to profit from poverty, there still has to remain the rights of the entity to exist. Yes, banks have the right to make a return from their investments, but if the person they chose to invest with forfeits on the loan due to inescaple circumstances, they should realize not all investments are guaranteed.

One would argue that the banks would never loan any money unless it was 100% guaranteed in such an environment, but it is completely their decision how much money they wish to make. There is always someone else willing to take the chance.

But not leaving businesses in the cold, opportunities should be offered for recognizing humanity:  such as tax breaks for writing off bad loans or; allowing a substantial tax break for alotting a certain square footage of their office building for homeless people to sleep;  or incentives for offering willing participants to re-enter the work force.  If all the employees in an office building did a food drive once in a while, the food banks would be much fuller.  The point would be to add a human touch to an otherwise inhuman entity. 

If humanity can be instilled into the character of the beast, perhaps the problem of "profiting from poverty" can be better dealt with.

To tackle the problem would require human endeavor above and beyond the criteria set out by business practices.  And if it were to be achievable, there would still not be any easy answers.

Perhaps citizens can be offered an anmesty period if their circumstance gets too dire.  Some businesses might lose small amounts from these amnesty periods, but at least they won't lose the true asset.

Perhaps, like the benefits reeped by a corporation for community involvement, it could be extended to a more personal level, where they work on problems in the community, such as poverty, the easing of local economic hardships (such as a plant closing) or sponsoring someone who has claimed an amnesty period.

In the long run, if we could inject a humanistic environment for unfortunate people to rebound, it would help maintain a stronger, healthier and productive work force, which will reflect a vibrant economy, where-in there would be fewer circumstantial tragedies.

Poverty makes us all a little poorer. The profit a business makes off of the poor, could end up costing us a lot more.  It would seem the sound, sensible thing to do would be to address the problem for future prosperity.