The term poverty industry refers to a wide-range of money-making activities that attract a large portion of their business from the poor. Businesses in the poverty industry often include payday loan centers, pawnshops, casinos, liquor stores, tobacco stores, and credit card companies.[1][2] Illegal ventures such as loansharking or drug-dealing or prostitution might also be included. The poverty industry makes roughly US$33 billion a year.[3]
While the ethics of the poverty industry are frequently debated, this is not to say that a business does offer a legitimate service or that all businesses of some type should be considered part of the industry. While businesses and organizations in the poverty industry may serve as a barrier for social progress, they are not a direct cause of poverty. Rather, they are usually considered symptoms of other social problems.