It can sometimes be expensive being poor.
But I don’t include “sometimes”. I say it plainly: It’s expensive to be poor in the US.
There was a store called Pay ‘n Save in the Seattle area up until a couple of decades ago. They had a store in the Renton Highlands, a middle class area, and Rainier beach, a poor, mostly black area.
The latter was next to a great Chinese restaurant so I went there a lot. The former was by where I lived.
Anyway, one day they had a sidewalk sale at all stores and I perused the merchandise at both. The prices at the Rainier Beach store were significantly higher. I remember an item that went for $1.99 in Renton highlands went for $2.99 in Rainier beach.
Part of it is shrinkage (shoplifting), which is so high in poor neighborhoods that the prices reflected it.
An acquaintence owned a chain of “off price” grocery stores around the western US and he actually closed his store in a very poor part of the Seattle area because the shrinkage was just killin’ him. That is why there are “food deserts”. And that is why the poor tend to be fat and eat expensive stuff like fast food. Part of the reason, anyway.
Part of the reason, anyway.....A lot of the reason. My experience as a loss prevention exec. has been 2% loss in theft, coupled with everything else= a store failing.