RE: What I Learned from Being “Poor”
Unaffordable to most. Even if education is free, many families can not afford the expenses which come with it. Whether that be long commutes or even things as simple as pen and paper. Remember, they buy piece wise, not bulk.
My dad began his professional teaching career at 16 in Malacca and spent the first salaries buying books, uniforms and shoes for students so they could attend class. The school was free but, they weren't allowed to come without a uniform or shoes - things most people couldn't afford.
In my city back in Oz I lived on the edge of a slum area and the local supermarket had 20% higher prices than the one 2 kilometers away because they knew that most of the people shopping there didn't have a car to travel.
There are many ways to restrict mobility of the poor.
Locally developers have found a new loophole abusing the affordable condo regulations.
Basically, each new residence needs to have condos available at around $200/month.
The loophole, obviously supported by the oligarchic lobby, is that the period during which that rate is required can be limited to 3 years, or the duration in which the developer needs to deliver the building.
After which a mortgage certification needs to be presented. And the $200/month until then is deducted from the final purchase price.
Obviously, many fresh grads who entered the world of outsourced call centers and work for around $300/month take home, $500 if they are Facebook moderators and have 4-6 seconds per post to review, fall in that trap while still living at home and waiting for the building to complete and be delivered.
Failure to present a mortgage, which most never achieve — nor understood due to lacking legalese understanding and being blinded by the well promoted condo lifestyle — results in the “reservation fee” being defaulted.
We've got a prison over here in Berlin, that's infamous for keeping most of their prisoners for fare dodging. Those people couldn't afford a ticket and got sent to jail for that. Which makes the famous tax payer accountable for around 120 Euro each day … noone benefits, btw. The private transport association never receives any money, people lose their freedom however after they already lost their mobility … spiraling down, down, down.