[ploxiln]

This doesn't refute my point. It supports it - you can't survive in NYC on $16k/yr.

I doubt all these people who can't afford $1k bail make within $2k/yr of each other. They might make $25k/yr or $30k/yr, but whatever it is, they'll never have $1k saved.

It's your prerogative to think I'm "blaming" poor americans by stating this, but it is also the reality of how these people live, as you would agree.

The point is, no bail amount would work.

[rpedroso]

I honestly take issue with the way you phrase your argument. You refer to the poor with phrases like "these people", trivialize their ability to survive without a week's paycheck because "they've done without before" and accuse them of spending frivolously without any real evidence.

My point in writing my comment was to emphasize that the poor pay disproportionately more of their income towards basic needs than the middle class. My hope was that I would provoke some empathy when discussing the economics of poverty.

I don't disagree with you that bail is a tricky issue -- for it to accomplish its goal, it has to mean something. But on the flip side, there are people living in New York City who cannot afford bail and get stuck in the justice system for years without recourse, without a speedy trial, and that seems unjust to me.[1]

A little empathy goes a long way.

[1] http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/06/before-the-law