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This Article reveals how the poor get by in AmericaBy Max Ehrenfreund

A customer enters a check-cashing business in Cincinnati, Ohio. (APA! Behrman"#he $oor $ay more for e%erything, from ro!!s of toi!et $a$er to furniture. &t's not

because they're s$endthrifts, either. &f you're denied a checking account, there's noay for you to a%oid $aying a fee to cash a $aycheck. &f you need to buy a car to getto ork, you'!! ha%e to acce$t hate%er higher interest rate you're offered. &f you don'tha%e a car, the bus fare might eat u$ the change you'd sa%e sho$$ing at a !argergrocery store as o$$osed to the !oca! corner store.&t's easy to fee! that )hen you are $oor, the 'system' is set u$ to kee$ you that ay,)in the ords of one *eddit user, )rugtoad.) #hat comment is at the to$ of anextraordinary thread fu!! of de%astating stories about hat it's !ike to get by ithnothing in the +nited tates of /0.)1roing u$ rea!!y $oor means rea!i2ing in your tenties that Mommy as !ying

hen she said she a!ready ate,) rote )de%iant3de%ices,) another commenter.4ou can buy on!y a sing!e $ack of $a$er toe!s at a time, rather than sa%ing on abund!e of /, as )Mee$shesaid) noted5

6hen you are broke, you can't $!an ahead or sho$ sa!es or buy in bu!k. Poor $eo$!eait to buy something unti! they abso!ute!y need it, so they ha%e to $ay hate%er thegoing $rice is at that moment. &f ten-$acks of $a$er toe!s are on sa!e for ha!f $rice,that's great, but you can on!y afford one ro!! anyay. &n this ay, $oor $eo$!e actua!!y

$ay more than others for common sta$!e goods.4ou can't $ay for hea!th insurance, and instead buy medicine from $et stores, as)co!orcoma) rites5

& buy )fish) antibiotics on!ine because & can't afford hea!th care. 7 Amoxici!!in andsuch. Most!y for husband ho has 8yme's disease. 6e can't afford our month!y hea!thcare rates. 6e are 9somethings in the +. *ea!!y fee! !ike a )bottom feeder).4ou can't a!so buy shoes that i!! !ast for more than a fe months, according to):rte$hen;a!ken)5&'m making

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As E!ise 1ou!d, an economist at the !ibera! Economic Po!icy &nstitute to!d me, the$oor are )!iuidity-constrained.))#here's a!! these %icious cyc!es that $oor $eo$!e face,) she said. )4ou get a >ob, butyou need a car to get to a >ob.) A guarantee of financia! security in the future often

costs money no.#his is a $rob!em not >ust for the %ery $oor, but a!so for the midd!e c!ass, 1ou!dnoted. #heir kids might ha%e to take out !oans to go to co!!ege, for exam$!e, hi!eea!thier $arents can $ay in cash. And they !ose the discounts on fees that financia!institutions gi%e to c!ients ith !arge ba!ances.E%en among the %ery rich, economist #homas Piketty's data suggests that thoseith more money are ab!e to earn higher returns on their in%estments.#o be sure, hoe%er, the $rob!em is most acute at the bottom of the incomedistribution. #he commenter )drinkex$!eti%efight.) hom &'!! uote at !ength,%i%id!y describes a $oor u$bringing5

Dau!ing food out of the dum$ster at @-//, because they thre aay $i!es of chi$ bagsthat ere a day o%er their ex$iration. (Manager caught us one day, they a$$arent!yto!d the em$!oyees to stab a ho!e in each chi$ bag after that. B:, e >ust had to sniffeach bag to make sure nothing as contaminated". Checking neighbors' trash bins -rescuing ha!f a damn $i22a some idiots had ordered the night before, then thre aayafter a handfu! of s!ices. Dau!ing in furniture from a!!eyays - my !itt!est sib!ing, mysister, recei%ed a tin bed mattress that had a grotesue bron stain on it, !ooked !ikesomeone had ex$!eti%e a ga!!on of et feces onto it. o ex$!eti%e gi%en, escrubbed that ex$!eti%e ith b!each o%er and o%er, and she s!e$t on it for years.And then there ere times hen the e!fare checks or food stam$s didn't arri%e, andthe trash bins ere not $roducing food. & gre u$ in a fair!y rura! area. 6hen thatha$$enedF& kno that in inter, 1rey uirre! tastes ex$!eti%e gross. ure, $eo$!e from theouth can c!aim that their bron and red suirre!s are de!icious, but & ou!d rather eatex$!eti%e out of a $ig's ass than eat another bite of goddamn suirre! meat. Or

>ackrabbit. Or goddamned dande!ion greens.&t says a !ot about the contem$orary +.. economy that some $eo$!e ha%e tosto$ taking $art in it a!together.

Ahead of its annua! meeting at :a%os next eek, the 6or!d Economic ;orum hasre!eased its annua! assessment of the biggest dangers facing the or!d o%er the next

decade.&n $re%ious years, the 6E;'s 1!oba! *isk *e$ort has concentrated on things !ikeba!!ooning debt !e%e!s and fisca! crises as the donside threats to the g!oba! economy.#his year hoe%er has seen internationa! conf!ict and en%ironmenta! concerns >um$u$ the !ist of G risks high!ighted by the forum's H ex$erts.Dere's a breakdon of hat e shou!d be most fearing o%er the next decade./. tate conf!ict#he biggest threat to or!d stabi!ity o%er the next / years is !ike!y to come fromgeo$o!itica! tensions.According to the re$ort, the crisis in +kraine, *ussia's simmering tensions ithEuro$e, and strained Chinese-Ia$anese re!ations are a!! e%idence that the or!d's

biggest $oers ha%e once again started engaging in strategic $oer strugg!es.

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A!though not a!! these conf!icts ere ex$!icit!y %io!ent in nature, the $robabi!ity ofregiona! s$i!!o%ers as the issue that most s$ooked $o!icymakers about g!oba!stabi!ity in the short and !ong-term.#his is a!so the first time that geo$o!itica! threats ha%e to$$ed the risk index,o%ertaking economic concerns se%en years after the onset of the financia! crisis, ith

/? being described as an )annus horribi!is) for state conf!ict.#enty-fi%e years after the fa!! of the Ber!in 6a!!, the or!d again faces the risk ofma>or conf!ict beteen states,J - Margareta :r2eniek-Danou2, !ead economist at the6E;.. 6ater is the ne oi!En%ironmenta! concerns ha%e a!so !ea$frogged to the to$ of the !ist, main!y as a resu!tof hat the re$ort fee!s is the !ack of $re$aredness shon by or!d !eaders o%er ho

best to tack!e extreme eather and c!imate change.But the threat hich as >udged as ha%ing the biggest im$act on the or!d

$o$u!ation, as a crisis in the or!d's ater su$$!y.An estimated ?bn to 0bn $eo$!e in the or!d suffer from strained access to c!ean

ater, ith the Midd!e East in $articu!ar !ike!y to be a hots$ot for strugg!es aroundater su$$!y.6e cou!d see the same tensions around ater as e ha%e seen around oi!J - Es$enE!de, managing director of the 6E;.Agricu!ture a!ready accounts for on a%erage @$c of tota! ater consum$tion and,according to the 6or!d Bank, e ou!d need to ram$ u$ food $roduction by 0$c by9 to meet the needs of the or!d's $o$u!ation, noted the 6E;.&n much the same ay great $oers ha%e fought ars o%er !and and oi!, e cou!d see

batt!es for the contro! of freshater su$$!ies, said one of the re$ort's authors.9. tate co!!a$se/? sa the emergence of the non-state actors hich threatened and sometimeso%er-ran the so%ereignty of nation states.Chief among them ere the &s!amic tate (&si!" and this trend toards go%ernmentco!!a$se in yria and &ra is high!ighted as one of the associated risks that come ithgeo$o!itica! conf!ict.)&sis has c!aimed contro! of territory and attracted , to 9, fighters from anear standing start,) read the re$ort .#he grou$'s bruta!ity cou!d a!so !ead to the use of ea$ons of mass destruction andincrease the !ike!ihood of !arge-sca!e terrorist attacks o%er the next decade.?. +nem$!oyment;or the first time in the re$ort's near /-year history, economic concerns feature far

!ess $rominent!y. A s!o and s!uggish return to g!oba! groth has reduced the!ike!ihood of another financia! crises, but of a!! the economic threats that sti!! remain,unem$!oyment ranked as the most $robab!e !ong-term threat to socia! stabi!ity.Persistent and stubborn >ob!essness is a dri%er of ineua!ity and a source of socia!tension, said the re$ort, hich as not o$timistic about the f!edg!ing reco%erygenerating enough >obs to maintain g!oba! $ros$erity.)8oer economic groth and techno!ogica! change are !ike!y to kee$ unem$!oymenthigh in the future,) it read.Dere's the fu!!-!ist of the 6E;'s risks grou$ed by their !ike!ihood and im$act5