I'm Shankar Vedantam, and this is hidden brain.
My name is Brandy Drew.
I'm from Detroit, Michigan.
Brandy Drew has a story that may sound familiar to you, a story of poverty and debt.
It's the kind of story that may lead people to quick conclusions, so pay attention to your own.
Brandi is now in her late thirties.
A few years ago, her life unraveled.
At the time, she ran the dining services department at a senior living facility.
She'd been with a company that ran it for more than a decade.
One day, she made a mistake.
I was just in a rush to get home.
That was all.
Because daycare closes at six.
I get off at five.
It was like maybe a ten mile drive.
Busy traffic area.
And I knew I had to pick up diapers.
And the easiest thing for me, I thought, would be to pick them up before I picked the baby up.
So Brandi stopped at a store, ran in and grabbed the diapers.
She swiped her credit card at the self checkout station and raced out.