General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why Poor People Stay Poor [View all]moriah
(8,312 posts)... that a car breaking down is something that is going to be resolved in a day. When you have a car without a warranty, and don't have an emergency fund to get whatever disabled your car fixed... not quite so easy. How long will an employer accept you being late, having to get rides with other people, etc? Reliable transportation is a must for any job, and not everyone lives in a city with public transportation.
For someone with enough money to fix a broken-down car quickly, no, being late once to work shouldn't cost them their job unless as you suggest there were other issues. Take away their car, as the assertion was made in the article happened due to towing fees, or to the other, more common thing -- a car broken down for an extended amount of time -- and yes, that can be catastrophic.