Yet another reminder of how hard we work to ensure poor people stay poor.
Yet another reminder of how hard we work to ensure poor people stay poor.
For these largely hourly workers, paper paychecks and even direct deposit have been replaced by prepaid cards issued by their employers. Employees can use these cards, which work like debit cards, at an A.T.M. to withdraw their pay.
But in the overwhelming majority of cases, using the card involves a fee. And those fees can quickly add up: one provider, for example, charges $1.75 to make a withdrawal from most A.T.M.’s, $2.95 for a paper statement and $6 to replace a card. Some users even have to pay $7 inactivity fees for not using their cards.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/01/business/as-pay-cards-replace-paychecks-bank-fees-hurt-workers.html?hp&_r=1&pagewanted=all&
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First, they pay shit wages, then they charge a fee for access to those shit wages. Why do Corporatists hate Americans?
On a personal note: I occasionally pay my water bill through an automated phone service that requires no personal contact; it's all done electronically. However, I'm charged a "convenience fee." Each time I pay in this manner I think to myself, "Convenience for whom?" I mean, I could pay by check, then someone at the water department would have to open my mail and process my check. But to pay by phone is a convenience? Wouldn't it be more convenient for the water company to do it electronically?
Oh, wait a second! Wouldn't it be more convenient for the water company to do it electronically? Now I know why there's a "convenience fee!"
