[matrix87]

> They cost more in healthcare, crime, and other support systems.

Not really sure causality is being poor -> being more expensive

Could go the other way, behaviors that make people more expensive -> being poor

Different hot take: if we took schooling more seriously this would be less of an issue. Which is on the one hand a government problem, on the other hand a cultural problem (compared to, say, Japan)

Just throwing money at a problem without attaching strings or directing how it's used is administrative complacency

[NotMichaelBay]

Here's a grim example where being poor leads to being more expensive. An $80 tooth extraction would have avoided $250,000 in hospital care costs.

https://perspectivesofchange.hms.harvard.edu/node/165

[matrix87]

Maybe for healthcare, in a preventative sense like eating a healthy diet.

But for stuff that requires actual care like your counterexample, yeah it's 100% a government problem

Maybe for crime, diet, civic engagement, it's more of an education problem