The Plight of the Poor in the United States of America - Year 2007

The following article mixed with some things that have happened in my own life recently have brought my attention to a serious act of discrimination of the worst kind, that occurs every day in this Country. It's the attack on the poor!

The poor are attacked everyday, many times a day and no one cares! I don't read ONE word about it on the internet, in any books and no one talks about it!

Here's what I have experienced:

1) If one has no money to pay their bill on time, one is punished with a late fee, thus raising the amount owed by the already poor individual.

2) If one is late but somehow manages to pay the late fee and the bill, the poor individual is again punished via a strike on his or her credit report. You already paid your debt by paying the late fee, right? Wrong!

3) One is then punished with higher interest rates. Higher interest rates mean higher debts, which mean higher payments and a higher likelihood of failed payment history or default on purchases which leads to more credit strikes.

4) With credit strikes in tow, the individual is again punished when making any further purchases by incurring an even higher interest rate and tarnished reputation, lessening future opportunities even more.

Can someone explain to me why it's ok to punish people again and again for having less?

I think about old people who live on fixed incomes who can't do anything more - how do they survive??

It seems if late fees are involved that should be the extent of the punishments. And I believe the credit industry has been allowed to overtake the entire United States. I bet if you look behind the credit agencies you will find Arabic oil, the same people who call us "consumptive" and an agenda to tear this Nation down by influencing things like immigration and globalization to better fund their interests.

The credit industry should not dictate how people interact with other businesses because of a relationship with a previous business. Who says business is always honest? They certainly aren't! They take action to boast self-worth, they inflate and exaggerate for their own self gain and they are just as crooked as some individuals.

I have said it before and I will say it again - some companies have outright tried to screw me out of my money and I refused to pay then and I refuse to pay now.

Again, I'm going to say that I bet credit and debt related causes of death are far higher than any smoking habits, drugs, murders, disease. What if it was proven that credit companies are killing people with their business practices?

I wonder if it would be taken serious or if people would let their greed override their thought processes.

U.S Citizens should not be discriminated against for being poor and should have the same opportunities as drug dealers, robbers, strippers, actors, Disney execs, politicians, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS.

It's discrimination against the poor and it's discrimination against U.S. Citizens - the credit industry uses YOUR information against you just as special interests use the U.S. Constitution against us. There is too much similarity to discard the process.

As I read somewhere before - the credit agency is modern say slavery of the people.

~Samantha

73% - See Rich-Poor Gap Increasing

Thu Jun 7, 12:00 AM ET

Nearly three-in-four Americans (73%) now agree with this statement: "Today it’s really true that the rich get richer while the poor get poorer"--an increase of eight percentage points since 2002 and the highest number in agreement since the early 1990s. The belief that "the rich just get richer" has increased significantly among people with relatively high annual incomes. Nearly two-thirds of those with household incomes of at least $75,000 (65%) agree that the richer are getting richer; in 2003, only about half of those in this income category (51%) shared this sentiment. More people with somewhat lower annual incomes – between $50,000 and $74,999 – also see the rich-poor gap growing (10-point increase). Large majorities of less wealthy Americans already believed that the rich-poor gap was widening, but this attitude has not gained support since 2003. Consequently, the difference in attitudes between those with high and low incomes has narrowed considerably since 2003.