Poor? Pay Up! Rich? Free Lunch!

The Washington Post has a great story today about the high cost of being poor. For most of us, this is pretty eye opening. For example:

"The poor pay more for a gallon of milk; they pay more on a capital basis for inferior housing," said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore. "The poor and 100 million who are struggling for the middle class actually end up paying more for transportation, for housing, for health care, for mortgages. They get steered to subprime lending. ... The poor pay more for things middle-class America takes for granted."

Like food: You don't have a car to get to a supermarket, much less to Costco, where the middle class goes to save money. You don't have three hours to take the bus. So you shop at the corner store, where prices can be double what you'll find at Safeway.

But if you really wanna get fired up about the gap between rich and poor, you should read the book Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and StickYou with the Bill) by David Cay Johnston. Let me warn you though, if you read the whole thing you'll just be pissed.