38% through, highly recommend it. It's thorugh, brutally-honest and deep. I have too put it down though, it's too much for winter.
What I really like is how the author manages to dig into the causes of eviction from all parties engaged:
1) Tenants keep making bad choices. Like having sex without protecting, using rent money to get alchohol.
I'm not blaming them, Poor Economies already explained the cognitive ability of the poor is comparatively bad because they are stressed. A scarcity mindset narrows focus to the immediate present. One worries about today’s rent and loses the ability to plan for next year. This is not a personal flaw.
They are also more easily impacted by the problems of the society. One nurse, Scott was making sound money before he got addicted to painkillers. Just another victim.
2) Landlords have more leverage than tenants. Landlord in the bok Sherrena Tarver profit from this desperation. They set rents at the edge of what a welfare check covers. They use eviction as a routine tool for management rather than a last resort.
She and the other landlord Tobin maximize profit by:
- Collecting late fees from families who are already struggling.
- Ignoring mold and broken plumbing because tenants fear eviction more than lead paint.
- Filing for eviction when a tenant complains about unsafe conditions.
- Winning in court because they have lawyers while the tenants show up alone.
Once a landlord evicts a family, they quickly fill the unit with another desperate family. The cycle restarts.
At this point I can't help but wonder if health care, a basic right everyone should have as well as accomodation, is turned into a lucrative business model as well.
3) The government favors property. One sees a massive power imbalance because tenants rarely have legal counsel.
a. Welfare payments do not keep up with rising market rents, which makes it impossible for many to stay current.
b. Eviction courts function like assembly lines for landlords. The process is fast and technical.
c. Even when city inspectors find code violations, they rarely force landlords to make repairs. Instead of helping, the state often punishes the poor. Police calls or noise complaints can trigger an eviction. When a family becomes homeless, the state may even remove children from their parents. It's like dominos, there is no turning back.
I stopped at 38% because the inevitable path to a tragic ending is too easy to forseen. Knowing the power of the system, my hope for the tenants to pull themselves out of the poverty trap is drained.
by dongludi
3 Comments
Thank you for posting this. It is one of the few books I have stopped reading on a vacation because it was depressing the shit out of me. I think I got to like 45%.
This is one of my favorite non fiction books of all time. A lot of books in this field make heroes and villains and we find some of each here, but Desmond does an incredible job of honestly presenting systematic oppression. You notice the victims here making bad decisions, and I find it refreshing how well he presents that without judgement or white washing, it’s just reality. It’s also part of the system of oppression and if we want to break the system we need to get over the fact that people make bad decisions. (This isn’t directed at OP, It seems like you understand this).
I’d recommend finishing just to appreciate the lens that Desmond takes in trying to understand an unfair system. As the book progresses he looks from every possible angle and you see the whole thing. It is depressing, but it’s also as true a book as you’ll find and worth reading just for that. I hope you pick it back up!
>At this point I can’t help but wonder if health care, a basic right everyone should have as well as accomodation, is turned into a lucrative business model as well.
It absolutely is, no question. Am I misreading this.