The poverty premium: why do we tolerate harm?
Being poor is more expensive than being rich. That concept baffles a lot of people, but it’s true.
It’s what many call the poverty premium. The fact that it costs low-income households more than others just to access essential services.
For those who work in a frontline service like the Citizens Advice network, this isn’t an abstract idea simply referenced in academic papers; it’s reality. I grew up in extreme poverty so I understand it only too well. It’s the reason why I got into money advice as a career and why I’m so passionate about it.
CAB advisers see the poverty premium every day in the faces of the people who come to them for help. More often than not, these people are desperate, usually at a point of crisis where they have nowhere left to turn.
........
© Herald Scotland
