As part of a series on poverty, MPR’s John Biewen looks at the "rent-to-own" industry and issues regarding interest rates.

Advocates for the poor say one reason for the persistence of poverty is that low-income people often pay more for basic goods and services than middle-class people do, making poor people feel they're running in place. Rent-to-own stores, like pawn shops and check-cashing outlets, tend to locate in poor neighborhoods... and many of their customers have low incomes or damaged credit. In two recent decisions, courts in Minnesota and Wisconsin said the nation's largest rent-to-own chain violated interest rate limits.

This is part three of four-part series "The High Cost of Poverty"

Click links below for other parts of series:

part 1: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/1997/01/13/the-high-cost-of-poverty-fringe-banking-part-1

part 2: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/1997/01/13/the-high-cost-of-poverty-minnesota-pawn-part-2

part 4: https://archive.mpr.org/stories/1997/01/15/the-high-cost-of-poverty-low-income-housing-part-4

Awarded:

1997 SPJ Sigma Delta Chi Awards for excellence in journalism Award, Public Service in Radio Journalism category

1998 PRNDI Award of Journalistic Excellence, second place in Division A - Enterprise/Investigative category