As with all things, it's not either/or, there is always nuance. ‘There is an enormous amount … We see landlords barely above poverty themselves who are regulated in ways that make them have to evict people or face penalties and/or undesirable scrutiny. This book frequently infuriated me, but it also raised in me a strong. Really horrifying and mind boggling that anyone would think that's a good policy even for reducing the amount people call the police. He argues that universal housing vouchers and publicly funded legal services for the evicted (90 percent lack attorneys in housing courts) would help alleviate this growing, often overlooked housing crisis. By telling these stories, he shows how hard it is for the poor to find and keep decent, affordable housing. Black people have the worst housing in the worst neighbourhoods – the great fear of the trailer-park people, who are all white, is that they will end up on the black side of town. Free UK p&p over £10, online orders only. The main condition holding them back, Desmond argues, is rent. We (Americans) doom people to permanent poverty and a lower caste simply by not ensuring safe and adequate shelter that is affordable. Although this book is about Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the author states this is a crisis effecting any large, urban city. Among the tenants in housing court, a third spend at least 80 percent. There’s no question we have a flawed system, and the cycle continues with no way out for those who are caught up in poverty and substandard living conditions. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. by Crown Publishers, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. The quote "Eviction is a cause, not just a condition of poverty," appears on page 299 of the book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the America City by Matthew Desmond. As a result, the number of households paying more than 30 percent of their income for shelter rose to a record 21.3 million—about one in six nationwide. The self-destructive behavior of the tenants also makes me angry and baffled, even while I sympathize with their desire to indulge a little short-term comfort or rebellion in their rotten circumstances. They way we treat the poor in this country is cruel. The author of several books, including the award-winning book, "On the Fireline," and "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City," Desmond was awarded a MacArthur "Genius" gran. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Matthew Desmond is an American sociologist and urban ethnographer. [ The government says that rent and utilities are affordable if they consume no more than 30 percent of the household's income. This is what poor looks like in America. One thing that really stuck with me was the fact that landlords were getting fined for their tenants calling the cops and being nuisances, and how they applied that to people calling in about domestic abuse a. I finished this book a few days ago and it really made me feel devastated. Of them, 10 percent devote at least half their income to shelter. There are no heroes in this book, neither the tenants or the landlords. You’ll find it hard not to. Evicted Matthew Desmond Review by Edward Morris. Following eight families, two landlords we are personally made. Desmond writes, “Eviction does not simply drop poor families into a dark valley, a trying yet relatively brief detour on life’s journey. Eviction hits black women hardest of all, and the bleak benches of housing courts, which deal with disputes between landlords and tenants, are full of black women and their children: “If incarceration had come to define the lives of men from impoverished black neighbourhoods, eviction was shaping the lives of women. To order Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City for £16 (RRP £20) go to bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. I'm not someone who tries to impress other people with what I've read. What if the dominant discourse on poverty is just wrong? If you are to read one non-fiction book this year it should probably be this book!!! "Evicted" is the story of eight families in Milwaukee, WI--six families struggling mightily to pay the rent on their increasingly crappy apartments, and two sets of landlords. Husband, Quentin and adequate shelter that is affordable process, and I can absolutely see why landlords either. 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