In Milwaukee’s predominately black inner-city neighbourhoods one in 14 renters are evicted every year. Being kicked out of a house into the streets is a very common occurrence for those living in poverty. Eviction is a problem that many are facing in today’s economy that rarely gets evaluated. Matthew Desmond analyzes the problems surrounding eviction in his piece “Eviction and the Reproduction of Urban Poverty”. There are many shocking statistics throughout the piece that provide clear examples of the issues with housing in America. Desmond sees the issues as something that needs to be fixed in order for America to move forward. Desmond even offers some solutions on the matter; however, when the libertarian views of Milton and Rose Friedman
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For a year Desmond split his time living in a predominately white poor neighbourhood and a predominantly black inner city neighbourhood. While he was in these neighbourhoods he followed families going through the eviction process. Throughout his study, he found that black women were more like to be evicted, in fact they were twice as likely, than black men. “Women from poor black neighbourhoods… tend to have a harder time making rent”. Many of the women in these inner city neighbourhoods were single mothers who were on welfare, which was giving them insufficient income. The mothers often had to choose between paying their rent and feeding their children. When the tenants would get behind on rent, the landlords would be forced to evict them. The landlords themselves could not pay for the complexes without the money from the tenants. An eviction is a permanent stain on the record of a tenant, so once someone is evicted they are unlikely to get affordable housing. This throws the evictees into an endless cycle of evictions. Desmond gives three main solutions to the eviction problem in inner cities: better welfare to help families get back on their feet, free legal counsel for those being evicted, and “tried and true affordable housing initiatives” to allow steady housing from those in poverty. In each of these methods the government would have to step in and use taxpayers’ money but the tenants would have a chance to get back on their feet. Desmond even goes as far as saying “perhaps it is time to reconceive altogether the most fundamental elements of housing in America. These solutions however, may not sit well with a
For a year Desmond split his time living in a predominately white poor neighbourhood and a predominantly black inner city neighbourhood. While he was in these neighbourhoods he followed families going through the eviction process. Throughout his study, he found that black women were more like to be evicted, in fact they were twice as likely, than black men. “Women from poor black neighbourhoods… tend to have a harder time making rent”. Many of the women in these inner city neighbourhoods were single mothers who were on welfare, which was giving them insufficient income. The mothers often had to choose between paying their rent and feeding their children. When the tenants would get behind on rent, the landlords would be forced to evict them. The landlords themselves could not pay for the complexes without the money from the tenants. An eviction is a permanent stain on the record of a tenant, so once someone is evicted they are unlikely to get affordable housing. This throws the evictees into an endless cycle of evictions. Desmond gives three main solutions to the eviction problem in inner cities: better welfare to help families get back on their feet, free legal counsel for those being evicted, and “tried and true affordable housing initiatives” to allow steady housing from those in poverty. In each of these methods the government would have to step in and use taxpayers’ money but the tenants would have a chance to get back on their feet. Desmond even goes as far as saying “perhaps it is time to reconceive altogether the most fundamental elements of housing in America. These solutions however, may not sit well with a