Cheap, aging used cars are a risky purchase if you don't have savings to pay for the inevitable repairs. Besides, once they had that cash in hand, they'd no lo

Cheap, aging used cars are a risky purchase if you don't have savings to pay for the inevitable repairs. Besides, once they had that cash in hand, they'd no longer be eligible for food stamps (you need to prove you have no savings or assets). They'd either have to stop collecting food stamps and burn up the excess capital on groceries, or commit welfare fraud. Being poor in America is rough. Regardless of the "but the poor still have cable TV!" argument, US culture (and the systems created by that culture) takes an almost punitive approach to poverty, where the poor are seen to deserve it and not be capable of making rational decisions.