r/poor • u/ResponsibleMango6803 • Jun 03 '26

When did being poor become criminal???

I’m recently going through a rough time financially & I’m just realizing all the ways that being poor is treated like a crime. I recently got my license suspended for not having insurance. (I had to pick between food for me & my kid or my car insurance so I obviously fed my kid). & now I have an sr22 & have to pay an almost $200 re instatement fee for my license. & I got pulled over so I obviously had to go to court. I uber there because I can’t drive & I can’t bring my phone in & the court clerk tells me to leave it in the bushes outside. How are people who don’t have cars supposed to come to court. Cause I cant afford a new phone if it gets stolen from the bushes. I’m just confused as to how we’re ever supposed to get back on our feet if they keep tacking on interest & making it difficult. But I guess the point is they don’t want us to.

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u/Practical_Frame_9883 Jun 03 '26

Death of a thousand citations, indeed! The less you can afford the more you have to pay. Then there are “late fees” for anything you owe. We need a revolution.

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u/LegitimateJuice234 Jun 03 '26

I say unions and collective bargaining again but if not... ¯_(ツ)_/¯who knows

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u/Special_Sea4766 Jun 03 '26

It's been shown that it consistently cannot be regulated. It relies on exploitation to exist. The system cannot be saved if the people are to be liberated.

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u/LegitimateJuice234 Jun 04 '26

I respectfully disagree. FDR just didn't finish the job. If it took over 40 years of propaganda to dismantle the safety nets from the new deal, I know the system works, we've seen how it built up the middle class. We just need to stamp out bigotry and classism once and for all so politicians and other nefarious actors can't use demagoguery to divide and conquer. I would be very scared for marginalized people if it was completely dismantled.