Two Things That Go Together

There are some things in life that seem to go naturally go together, like chocolate & peanut butter. In Detroit, two things that seem to go together are tax preperation places & cash/payday advance places.

There are many tax preperation places all across the city, and they're all the bigger companies, like H&R Block or Jackson-Hewitt. At every tax preperation place I can guarantee you there will be a cash/payday advance place either right next door in the same strip mall or, at most, a block away. This angers me so much, because it's a subtle sign of many things that are wrong in this city. These cash/payday advance places take advantage of the fact that people who are getting a refund from their taxes may not be able to access normal banking services (like checking or savings accounts) or they may not have the financial literacy skills to understand that these cash advance places are actually ripping them off. These places make it easy to get money fast - at a price. Fast money is an attractive thought though, you need the money to pay your rent to make it through to the end of the month.