I used to teach adult classes at an inter-city school.
First of all, I was shocked that hardly any of the students had a bank account and few of them even knew what an ATM was.
I think it is a cultural thing, and I think it is a horrible blemish on America for what they have done to the poor.
Unless your credit is spotless, many banks don’t want to deal with you, or you have to deposit a certain amount that is beyond the average person’s disposable income. There is the old joke, “how can I be broke, I still have checks?” Sadly, for many of my students who don’t have a grasp on basic math, that was their problem and suddenly they were hit with huge fees, or worse - fraud. We’re talking poor folk, who come from families who never dealt with banks before.
Many of their local supermarkets and businesses didn’t even accept checks. So as far as they were concerned, why bother with a bank account?
Slightly off topic, we once had a discussion about rent. At the time, I was living in upscale West Hollywood, CA. These students basically lived in ghettos. Guess who paid less rent. Me.
Why? Maybe because I was a white male - but most likely because I had created a credit history, had a bank account and was able to provide references from employers and previous landlords. My students had nothing.
So I paid less for my apartment, with all the amenities, and they paid more, in cash, to slum lords for rat traps.
And as the years roll on, it gets harder and harder for them to break out of this cycle.
