Week 14 Response: Poverty And Profit In The American City

Week 14 Response
Poverty
Name
Institution
Poverty
Mathew Desmond’s book titled Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City is indeed a masterpiece. Unlike other accounts that often seem biased, Desmond manages to outline the underlying issues the poor often face while seeking shelter. Additionally, he delves deeper and also reveals the challenges landlords face as they try to maintain and increase their profit margins. While it is easy for landlords to blame tenants and vice versa, Desmond also includes factors such as the economic issues that have condemned the lower-income group into lifetimes of poverty. The book not only provides one with a clear view of the issues poor tenants, and landlords face, but also brings into perspective the issue of race that has also influenced housing.
The US economy is not as strong as it used to be. The above fact is made obvious when Desmond (4) states that “families have watched their incomes stagnate, or even fall, while their housing costs have soared.” Currently, families within the lower-income bracket are spending a significant portion of their income to pay rent which leaves them with little for utilities and food. Therefore, some decide to be late on rent and pay for other utilities which then makes it even harder for them to recover financially. Desmond also reveals that the number of people who can afford to consistently pay their rent in the US is dwindling. While this might be just another statistic to some people, it is a clear indication of the country’s economic strength.
While it is possible to empathize with the poor, Desmond also includes the struggles of the landlords. This inclusion while surprising is indeed impressive because it explains how the frustrations of life can sometimes be passed on from one person to another. For example, Desmond notes how some tenants used to misbehave when he says “a tenant tore down her own ceiling, took pictures, and convinced the court commissioner it was the landlord’s fault; the time an evicted couple stuffed socks down the sinks and turned the water on full-blast before moving out.” As a landlord, it takes heart and sacrifice to allow a poor family to live in your property. However, as Desmond notes (17), some tenants often get their landlords in trouble when they decide to call the inspection unit or destroy property when given the eviction notice.
Desmond’s book is indeed quite informative because he also included the effects of economic transformations as well as policy changes all of which seem to inflict further pain and suffering to the poor. The government alongside the private sector have indeed had a bigger role to play than they often admit. For example, Desmond (24) talks of how employer’s quest for cheap labor condemned many people to unemployment and hence a quick downward spiral to poverty. Additionally, he also mentions government policies such as the welfare reforms that cut out many families from the monthly welfare stipend.
The issue of race also comes up in Desmond’s book. First of all, it was very unusual for an African American more so a woman to be a member of the Milwaukee Real Estate Investors Networking Group (RING). Secondly, i...