I opened my e-mail to find that my car insurance had been cancelled. Not for tickets. Not for repeated accidents. Not for driving recklessly. But, for being late (note: “late” meaning that I did in fact, pay my car insurance every month, but a day or three late was too much for the multi billion dollar industry) with payment three months out of the year.
This has left me searching for new car insurance, with new quotes coming in at about $100 more per month, because I now have a record of being dropped by an insurance company for “no payment”. Again - I paid the MFs. I paid them LATE. So, because I played what is known by people at the bottom as “chicken” (aka. what bill can go paid late this month in order to pay other bills, while balancing credit card charges and over draft limits and try to decrease the amount of funds that goes to interest costs…), the bill that I could not pay on time for not having the funds readily available, has now gone up in cost. Makes a lot of sense - right? As a comedian once stated in a skit about being poor, “Rich people look at me when I complain about NSF like “The bank has a right to incur a fee for you not having enough money - I don’t understand what the problem is”. It is almost like NSF fees and things of that nature were instituted by corporations and rich people…
I’d like to share that when I use the language “poor” - for the purposes of this article, I mean people that cannot afford to live life beyond or meet their basic human needs. By not afford, I mean that they cannot cover the cost of housing, food, child care, medical needs, transportation AND be able to enjoy hobbies or things that bring them joy without going into debt. Some may wonder what word I may use to then describe folks who are experiencing homelessness etc. and I would say: Destitute.
There is a theory called The Boot Theory that is used to describe how being poor, costs more money than not being poor. It goes like this: A poor man pays $10 for a pair of boots to keep his feet dry until the cardboard goes limp and they begin to leak within a year. A rich man buys boots that cost $50 and last 10 years. The poor man ends up spending $100 in those ten years and ultimately still has wet feet. Because the poor man did not have the $50 up front, he ultimately spends more money to keep his feet dry. Another example of this may be folks who need to postpone maintenance for dental or eye care (because for some reason these are not covered under universal health care), who then end up with a build up of issues that cost more to fix in the long run.
I think it needs to be clearly stated that in our western world, no one NEEDS to be poor. It is a societal choice to keep poor people from ever making it forward. It benefits the capitalist structure which runs our entire world. Banks make money off of interest, payday loaners profit off of interest, student loans leave poorer individuals at a deficit after graduation (and, you guessed it, the loans then make the banks and the government money, due to the added interest), employers benefit from workers who need to choose between groceries and bills because they are more vulnerable and therefore, can be taken advantage of. Landlords profit off of tenants who can’t afford to buy homes of their own.
Furthermore, within the sub-section of the poor population, there are further marginalized groups which include; people of colour, queer and disabled folks. Populations of people who have systemically and historically been repressed by society who are then told to “pick themselves up by the bootstraps”.
I could outline statistics and reference studies throughout my statements. However, if you are someone who follows my work, chances are that you do not need me to - because you live this reality. If you are someone who does find themselves wanting concrete data, it isn’t hard to Google. Time is money and I do not want to spend time to prove what so many of us already experience - including myself.
It costs time to be poor. There is a lack of access to reliable transportation, meaning spending time relying on mediocre western world mass transit. Lack of access to basic appliances such as a washing machine in your rental unit, meaning spending time at a laundry mat. Lack of access to additional funds to outsource food prep, child care or house cleaning, meaning time spent in chores. More time spent applying for loans and credit cards that are literally, handed, to rich people in nice little envelopes that arrive in their mailboxes. “Oh! You have money?! Heres more!”, say the banks. More time working to pay off school. More time working overtime at the minimum wage job to pay for bills. Etc. Etc.
This all then leads to less time for community. Less time for friends. Less time for joy. Because, you’re poor. You don’t deserve to have hobbies or to enjoy life. Despite the fact that studies have shown that these aspects of life are incredibly important to our mental and physical health.
So, my dear friends and readers on the bottom. It is safe to say that ultimately as we approach the looming collapse of society, that it is becoming more and more apparent the world is not made for poor people like us. Therefore, our power exists in rebelling against it, in ways which we can, that are available to us based on our individual situations. Direct the anger you feel into protests, supporting your community, advocating for and supporting the unhoused, supporting those on the streets, rising up against injustices, educating the ignorant, educating yourself to combat the societal messages that the poor and destitute are failures of their own making, connecting with local advocacy groups, turning the other way if you see someone shop lifting.
Your anger is valid. I see you.
For more information (and sourced material) on this topic, I invite you to watch the following video essay: Why is Being Poor so Expensive, by Some More News. For myself, absorbing satirical, sarcastic yet well resourced and educated media both keeps me informed and validates my anger. This may get me into public verbal conflict at Dollarama with boomers who criticize the minimum wage worker for “being too slow” and labelling the younger generation as “lazy” (true story) but - its a small price to pay.
Ugh I'm so so sorry. The exact same thing happened with my insurance company for home and auto (they are bundled) in January, I now pay over $100 more a month because of it with a new company (and that supposedly includes "discounts"). It is absolutely ridiculous. Especially when each NSF fee is also an additional $50 for each policy... every time something bounces you're out even more money and you just can't stand back up from it at a certain point. But you also can't live legally in a home/apartment and own a vehicle without those insurance policies. It is absolutely ridiculous and disheartening and not to mention I'm pretty sure depending where you live the cancellation "follows" you for 3-5 years just like an accident or ticket would so now you pay for that lack of financial stability for years to come... The world is on literal fire :/