I had high hopes for this article (based on the title), but was utterly disappointed by it. It seems to serve no purpose other than to provide dinner-party fodd

I had high hopes for this article (based on the title), but was utterly disappointed by it. It seems to serve no purpose other than to provide dinner-party fodder for the middle classes hoping to project a sense of I'm in touch with the poor empathy. It deals with a generality that is stunningly obvious: it's expensive to be poor. In the space of five pages, it struggles to get beyond that generality. There are a handful of anecdotes and equal number of catch-phrase expert opinions that barely scratch the surface. Where is the data: how many people are actually affected by these factors (not merely 'poor'), to what extent, and at what ultimate cost (in dollars). Where is the root-cause analysis: is being poor linked to class / expectations of life / upbringing? Where is the counter story: examples of people who got them selves our of the trap - how did they do that? What made them different. Where is call to action: if this is truly an oh-so-terrible-problem then where is the call to action? What are readers to do? I apologize now if this comes across as a rant. In my opinion this is a real and growing problem for the developed world, and as such a article that merely skims the surface like this one comes across as disingenuous, so I suspect the motives. I'm reminded of the 1984 hit "Feed the world". The final lines of the verse (sung by Bono) always sends a chill through me: There's a world outside your window, and it's a world of dread and fear Where the only water flowing is the bitter sting of tears And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom Well tonight thank God it's them instead of you (Bono) This feels like classic 'tonight thank God it's them instead of you' journalism. </rant>