our local poor tax
This is a New York Times article on the Brookings Institution report of the "Ghetto Tax" paid by the urban poor. The main point is that the urban poor are often over-charged by businesses because they are less likely to comparison shop on the internet, less mobile to purchase goods elsewhere, more likely to pay high interest rates on items like televisions and cars, etc. Now, this may seem unfair and everything, but hey, we live in a capitalistic society and we can't expect these for-profit businesses to give up an opportunity on good old price-discrimination, even if it does mean that those who have less will sometimes end up paying more.
A type of "Ghetto Tax" that the article does not mention is a personal pet peeve. If anything qualifies as a "Ghetto Tax", it's the government lottery. This is truly a tax on the poor and desperate. At the very least, it's a tax on the risk-loving and statistically-challenged segments of the population. And what's worse is that this form of gambling is sponsored by the government and our tax dollars! The state government advertises about the wonders of the lottery on bill boards and on television during primetime hours! (I always groan disapprovingly whenever one of those tongue-in-cheek lottery advertisements for a private island organizer or gold bars counter comes on.) The function of the lottery is essentially a regressive form of taxation, where those who buy lottery tickets voluntarily subsidize through social benefits afforded by government funds the non-lottery-ticket buyers. Doesn't this system of the poor subsidizing the rich work against one of the specific purposes of taxation in the first place -- income redistribution? Down with the lottery!
A type of "Ghetto Tax" that the article does not mention is a personal pet peeve. If anything qualifies as a "Ghetto Tax", it's the government lottery. This is truly a tax on the poor and desperate. At the very least, it's a tax on the risk-loving and statistically-challenged segments of the population. And what's worse is that this form of gambling is sponsored by the government and our tax dollars! The state government advertises about the wonders of the lottery on bill boards and on television during primetime hours! (I always groan disapprovingly whenever one of those tongue-in-cheek lottery advertisements for a private island organizer or gold bars counter comes on.) The function of the lottery is essentially a regressive form of taxation, where those who buy lottery tickets voluntarily subsidize through social benefits afforded by government funds the non-lottery-ticket buyers. Doesn't this system of the poor subsidizing the rich work against one of the specific purposes of taxation in the first place -- income redistribution? Down with the lottery!