Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
by Matthew Desmond
View on GoodreadsSome tenants in Milwaukee's poorest neighborhoods spent 70 to 80 percent of their income on rent for substandard housing. Desmond spent 2008 and 2009 there, following eight families and two landlords, and his case is that eviction doesn't just follow poverty. It helps cause it.
Core ideas
- Once rare, now routine: Eviction became ordinary as rents rose and incomes and aid didn't keep pace, and about 90 percent of tenants in housing court have no lawyer.
- Both sides of the lease: Landlords Sherrena Tarver and Tobin Charney, who made over $400,000 a year from 131 trailers, appear alongside tenants like Arleen.
- The fix: Universal housing vouchers capping housing costs at 30 percent of income for eligible families, plus publicly funded lawyers for tenants facing eviction.
Published2016
Pages418
ISBN9780553447439
ReadApr 2023
