Ghetto living has gotten pricey

While I have heard several arguments about discount retailers (yes, walmart) being placed in low-income areas (the ghetto) really benefitting society, and check cashing places not, this NYTimes article (which is based on a Brookings study) takes the idea much further, finding that car loan interest rate differences between the ghetto and the mcmansions being as much as a few percentage points - one of the causes of this, according to the article, is the inability to comparison shop.

Even things as small as having normal banks (instead of checkIntoCash) located in poorer areas as well as grocery stores (as opposed to the typically higher prices of a convenience store...and healtheir than liquor). I know that DC is trying very hard at this, providing strong incentives for grocery stores in 'developing neighborhoods' and building a metro-accessible target. However, care needs to be taken in these situations not to make them too appealing - or the money and land hungry developers will snatch it up and make condos - sad, huh. This is what is happening now in the Columbia Heights area - they got a Giant grocery store and a target and all of a sudden all these bars opened and it became a hip part of town to live in. Even jenna bush thinks so. dude...she is a teacher and she smokes!