Something I didn't know before becoming poor, which I know a lot of (non-poor) people don't know, is how often you will just be refused service because of being poor.
It's the kind of thing I've seen people say doesn't happen. It does.
People on phone calls will be kind and respectful until you tell them you're on Medicaid - suddenly they will become strict and hostile. They'll correct your wording and pronunciations, sometimes even mocking you for them. Suddenly there's a wait list. Suddenly the program isn't for "people like you."
Medical offices (who say they accept Medicaid) are open to seeing you. You mention you're on Medicaid and suddenly they don't have any openings. No, not even a wait list. Try another office.
Landlords will find out you have subsidized rent and suddenly the apartment you toured has been filled by someone else, and actually, nowhere else is vacant.
Your meals in fast food joints are watched like a hawk. If you stay too long after finishing them, you're at risk of getting kicked out. Don't even get me started on department stores.
A lot of these are generally part of the poor experience, and also a lot of them are usually worse if you're unhoused (and even worse if you're visibly unhoused), worse if you're racialized, and worse if you're visibly disabled. Black and Brown poor people have all of the above issues and also a higher risk of the cops showing up, and God knows the cops won't listen to their side of the story.
A lot of these are illegal - some blatantly. But you don't have time to prosecute because you're at risk of eviction, you're at risk of losing benefits, losing your car, your medication access, your ID, your food stamps, your spot in a shelter, your name on a wait list... a permanent crisis, a socially engineered pressure cooker.
You have bigger fish to fry. So the people who do this to poor beings can get away with it as much as they'd like. And you get to keep struggling to keep yourself alive.
