Best low-cost HDTVs

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The High Cost of Poverty

Being poor costs a lot ...

The poorer you are, the more things cost. More in money, time, hassle, exhaustion, menace. This is a fact of life that reality television and magazines don’t often explain.

So we’ll explain it here. Consider this a primer on the economics of poverty.

“The poor pay more for a gallon of milk; they pay more on a capital basis for inferior housing,” says Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.). “The poor and 100 million who are struggling for the middle class actually end up paying more for transportation, for housing, for health care, for mortgages. They get steered to subprime lending. . . . The poor pay more for things middle-class America takes for granted.”

Poverty 101: We’ll start with the basics.

Like food: You don’t have a car to get to a supermarket, much less to Costco or Trader Joe’s, where the middle class goes to save money. You don’t have three hours to take the bus. So you buy groceries at the corner store, where a gallon of milk costs an extra dollar.

A loaf of bread there costs you $2.99 for white. For wheat, it’s $3.79. The clerk behind the counter tells you the gallon of leaking milk in the bottom of the back cooler is $4.99. She holds up four fingers to clarify. The milk is beneath the shelf that holds beef bologna for $3.79. A pound of butter sells for $4.49. In the back of the store are fruits and vegetables. The green peppers are shriveled, the bananas are more brown than yellow, the oranges are picked over.

(At a Safeway on Bradley Boulevard in Bethesda, the wheat bread costs $1.19, and white bread is on sale for $1. A gallon of milk costs $3.49 — $2.99 if you buy two gallons. A pound of butter is $2.49. Beef bologna is on sale, two packages for $5.)

The High Cost of Poverty

Too much cola causes muscular weakness

You know the folks over at Coca-Cola didn't 'fund' this one ...

Greek researchers have published a paper in International Journal of Clinical Practice about a growing incidence of muscular problems brought on by too much cola consumption.

"Evidence is increasing to suggest that excessive cola consumption can also lead to hypokalaemia, in which the blood potassium levels fall, causing an adverse effect on vital muscle functions."

A research review carried out by Dr Elisaf and his colleagues has shown that symptoms can range from mild weakness to profound paralysis. Luckily all the patients studied made a rapid and full recovery after they stopped drinking cola and took oral or intravenous potassium.

The case studies looked at patients whose consumption ranged from two to nine litres of cola a day.

Excessive Cola Consumption Can Lead To Super-sized Muscle Problems, Warn Doctors

Moonshiner busted for drug smuggling along with son

The gentleman below at the far left is Paul Faulkner, 83, a 'former' Moonshiner who was recently busted along with members of his family for running a drug smuggling ring in north Georgia. His son Michael Smith, also below, ran the show.

From CNN:

Faulkner, who is suffering from cancer, was handed a 20-year sentence last month and is to head to prison in August. "Twenty years, that is a death sentence," said Giles Jones, Faulkner's attorney, adding that he has appealed the sentence.

He said Faulkner was a "full-time mountain shiner" who could talk moonshine until he was "blue in the face," but knew little about the Mexican marijuana operation. Jones said the old man's son "threw his ass under the bus" to save himself.

"It's a situation where I guess you're just looking out for yourself. It's every day as every day, man," said Jones.

Not so fast, said Cathy Alterman, the defense attorney for Smith, Faulkner's son.

"Michael didn't throw his father under the bus. His father threw Michael down the drain when he was 16 years old," Alterman said. "If the father got a longer sentence, it's because he's a lousy father. ... He was never there for his son, except to be a bad example."

Moonshine to Mexican marijuana: Family gets busted

They took the money and run

A couple in New Zealand found an extra NZ10,000,000 in their bank account, so they transferred it offshore and split:

The pair, named in media reports as Leo Gao and Cara Young, could hardly believe their luck when they checked their account at Westpac bank on 5 May, hoping to find their request for a NZ$10,900 (£4,000) overdraft had been accepted.

Instead, the bank had deposited 1,000 times that amount: NZ$10m, or around £4m. With so many borrowers around the world constantly being told "no" by their creditors, here, finally, was a bank that liked to say "yes".

Last night the accidental millionaires from Rotorua, a tourist city on the north island overlooking, appropriately enough, the Bay of Plenty, are on an Interpol wanted list after fleeing with the bulk of their windfall two weeks ago.

New Zealand couple flee after finding £4m in their bank account

Ohio family feud leads to dueling candy stores

Candy makers Greg and Socrates Goumas are opening a new store and are armed with their grandfather's secret recipes, but so is their older brother — and he's moving in 100 feet away. When George Goumas returned to Ohio from Sanibel Island, Fla., to run his family's candy business, he had his mother's blessing — filling the prodigal son role — but he squeezed out his brothers, long the chief chocolatiers at Goumas Candyland.

Full Story

Genetic clue to autism's link to boys found

New research may explain why autism affects boys four times more often than girls.

Genetic clue to autism

Sweeping changes in store for credit card users

New legislation that President Obama is expected to sign is meant to protect debt-ridden consumers, but some users might see higher charges.

Sweeping changes in store for credit card users

Also:

• Q&A about the new bill
• Find ways to get out of debt

One group bears brunt of layoffs

While no one is immune in a downturn, one group of workers is getting hit harder than most.

Brunt of layoffs

Watch lightning strike Seattle's Space Needle

Play Video

See incredible video of lightning crackling on the famed landmark during a storm.

Watch lightning strike Seattle's Space Needle

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• Weird weather facts
• Mars hoax circulates

Twenty Percent Fail the National Drivers Test

GMAC Insurance has produced its 5th annual National Drivers Test. Based on the results (and you can still take the test at nationaldriverstest.com), more than 20% of Americans can't pass a written drivers test.

Full Story

Our Readers

Some of our readers today have been in:

Richmond, British Columbia, Canada
Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Riyadh, Ar Riyad, Saudi Arabia
Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Maisuru, Karnataka, India
Bangalore, Karnataka, India
London, Ontario, Canada
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Uppsala, Uppsala Lan, Sweden
Glostrup, Kobenhavn, Denmark
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
London, England, United Kingdom
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Stockton-On-Tees, England, United Kingdom
Vitoria, Pais Vasco, Spain
Brussels, Brussels-Hoofstedelijk Gewest, Belgium
Athens, Attiki, Greece
Seoul, Seoul-T'ukpyolsi, Republic of Korea
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

as well as Serbia & Montenegro, and the United States

Daily Horoscope

Today's horoscope says:

You can give people pleasure without even trying today.
Just flashing a sweet smile to someone on the street as you pass them by will make their day brighter -- after all, don't you love it when someone pays attention to you more than anyone else?
You have to stop underestimating the amount of influence you have over the moods of the people around you.
When you're feeling sunny, share the vibe!
You can make a big difference when you connect with people.

Kool Beenz!