Poverty industry
The term poverty industry refers to a wide-range of money-making activities that attract a large portion of their business from the poor. Businesses in the poverty industry often include payday loan centers, pawnshops, casinos, liquor stores, tobacco stores, and credit card companies.[1][2] Illegal ventures such as loansharking or drug-dealing or prostitution might also be included. The poverty industry makes roughly US$33 billion a year in the United States.[3]
While the ethics of the poverty industry are frequently debated, this is not to say that a business does offer a legitimate service or that all businesses of some type should be considered part of the industry. While businesses and organizations in the poverty industry may serve as a barrier for social progress, they are not a direct cause of poverty. Rather, they are usually considered symptoms of other social problems.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "EXPOSÉ on THE JOURNAL: The Business of Poverty". Bill Moyers Journal. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
- ^ Grow, Brian. "The Poverty Business". Business Week. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
- ^ Rivlin, Gary (June 8, 2010). Broke USA: From Pawnshops to Poverty, Inc. — How the Working Poor Became Big Business. HarperBusiness. p. 368. ISBN 978-0-06-173321-5.
Literature
- Edited by Michael Hudson, Merchants of Misery, Common Courage Press 1993
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