If you have someone who is paying 88 percent of her income on rent, and we have laws that allow a landlord to evict a tenant who falls behind under those circumstances, eviction becomes an inevitability.
Matthew DesmondRead
When you ask people why they were evicted, the big reason is nonpayment of rent. They can't afford to keep a roof over their heads. Utilities are a big part of the story too, while the third leg on the table is the lack of government help with housing.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the complexities of housing insecurity, emphasizing the intertwined issues of financial capability, utility costs, and governmental support.
Matthew Desmond's quote sheds light on the fundamental struggles faced by those evicted due to nonpayment of rent. It underscores that these evictions are often rooted not just in an inability to pay rent, but also in the larger context of rising utility costs and insufficient government assistance, which together create a precarious situation for vulnerable individuals and families.
Themes
EvictionHousingAffordabilityGovernment AssistancePoverty
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on social justice, this quote can emphasize the critical need for affordable housing.
More from Matthew Desmond
All quotes βDo we believe housing is a right and that affordable housing is part of what it should mean to be an American? I say yes.
Matthew DesmondRead
The texture and hardship of poverty and eviction is something that I think left the deepest impression on me, and I hope that I try to convey a little bit of that to the reader.
Matthew DesmondRead
When I was confronted with just the bare facts of poverty and inequality in America, it always disturbed and confused me.
Matthew DesmondRead
Arguably, the families most at need of housing assistance are systematically denied it because they're stamped with an eviction record. Moms and kids are bearing the brunt of those consequences.
Matthew DesmondRead
Moms that get evicted are depressed and have higher rates of depressive symptoms two years later. That has to affect their interactions with their kids and their sense of happiness. You add all that together, and it's just really obvious to me that eviction is a cause, not just a condition, of poverty.
Matthew DesmondRead
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