Living in the Slow Lane

In its first post in the category “Third World Country,” RedPhoneDiairies links to an Associated Press article, L.A. seeing more people living out of their cars, available at the International Herald Tribune website, among others. An excerpt:

People living out of their cars or campers tend to be more well-off than the homeless on the street. They usually have jobs or disability checks that enable them to maintain an old camper but do not allow them to afford rent.

“For more working-class and lower-middle-class people, the car is the first stop of being homeless, and sometimes it turns out to be a long stop,” said Gary Blasi, a University of California, Los Angeles, law professor and activist on homeless issues.