Quotes by Sociologists

When you meet people who are spending 70, 80 percent of their income on rent, eviction becomes much more of an inevitability than the result of personal irresponsibility. Matthew Desmond

You People Result Meet Spending Percent More Becomes Rent Inevitability Than Personal Irresponsibility Much Who Income

If we take a hard look at what poverty is, its nature, it's not pretty - it's full of trauma. Matthew Desmond

Nature Poverty Pretty Take Look Full Hard Hard Look Trauma

Poverty is a relationship that involves a lot of folks, rich and poor alike. I was looking for something that brought a lot of different people in a room. Eviction does that, embroils landlords and tenants, lawyers and social workers. Matthew Desmond

Arguably, the families most at need of housing assistance are systematically denied it because they're stamped with an eviction record. Moms and kids are bearing the brunt of those consequences. Matthew Desmond

Consequences Those Kids Systematically Record Brunt Bearing Arguably Most Because Housing Denied Families Stamped Moms Assistance Need

When we think of entitlement programs, Social Security and Medicare immediately come to mind. But by any fair standard, the holy trinity of United States social policy should also include the mortgage-interest deduction - an enormous benefit that has also become politically untouchable. Matthew Desmond

Entitlement Mind Become Think Enormous Programs Benefit States Immediately Security Trinity Entitlement Programs Fair Come Also Untouchable Policy Any Politically Social Holy Should Standard Deduction Social Policy Social Security Include United United States Medicare

There were evictions that I saw that I know I'll never forget. In one case, the sheriff and the movers came up on a house full of children. The mom had passed away, and the children had just gone on living there. And the sheriff executed the eviction order - moved the kids' stuff out on the street on a cold, rainy day. Matthew Desmond

Day Mom Gone Living Cold Saw Kids Out Case Never Had Never Forget Stuff Know Executed House Passed Sheriff Came Were Up Forget Just Moved Children Order Full Away Street Rainy Rainy Day

Eviction causes loss. You lose not only your home but also your possessions, which are thrown onto the curb or taken by movers, and often you can't keep up payments. Matthew Desmond

Home You Lose Possessions Only Onto Thrown Taken Also Causes Loss Up Curb Often Which Your Payments Keep

I met a landlord who will pay you to move at the end of the week and let you use his van. That's a really nice kind of eviction. I met a landlord who will take your door off. There are 101 ways to move a family out. Matthew Desmond

I see myself working in the tradition of sociology and journalism that tries to bear witness to poverty. Matthew Desmond

Myself Witness Poverty Tries See Bear Journalism Tradition Working Sociology

The high cost of housing is crushing poor families and sending them to a state of desperation. Matthew Desmond

Desperation State High Cost Crushing Housing Families Sending Them Poor

When you ask people why they were evicted, the big reason is nonpayment of rent. They can't afford to keep a roof over their heads. Utilities are a big part of the story too, while the third leg on the table is the lack of government help with housing. Matthew Desmond

Government You People Roof Big Too Table Part Over Heads Housing Rent Were Leg Afford Big Part Lack Story While Ask Help Reason Keep Why Third

Most cities don't have a just cause eviction law. Most allow no cause evictions, as well as evictions for nonpayment. Matthew Desmond

Law Cause Cities Allow Most Well Just

Just as incarceration has come to define the lives of low-income black men, eviction is defining the lives of low-income black women. Matthew Desmond

Women Black Men Define Defining Come Just Low-Income Incarceration Lives

Eviction affects old folks and young folks, sick people and able-bodied people, white communities and African-American communities. Matthew Desmond

People Old Young White Sick Folks Affects African-American Communities

Libraries are not just places where people go read a book, but places where an immigrant goes to take English lessons and where folks out of a job search for community. Matthew Desmond

Book People Job Community Libraries Immigrant Out Folks Take Read Go Goes Just Where Places English Lessons Search

If I wrote in Michael Harrington's time, roughly 50 years later when he published 'The Other America', I'd still be writing about poverty and also entrenched racial injustice. Matthew Desmond

Time Injustice Writing Poverty Other Later About Entrenched He Also Wrote Still Years Michael America Racial Roughly Published

We have failed to fully appreciate how deeply housing is implicated in the creation of poverty. Matthew Desmond

Poverty Creation Failed Housing How Fully Deeply Appreciate

Evictions used to be rare in this country. They used to draw crowds. There are scenes in literature where you can come upon an eviction - like, in 'Invisible Man' there's the famous eviction scene in Harlem, and people are gathered around, and they move the family back in. Matthew Desmond

You can get out of maintaining property at code if the family is behind on rent. Matthew Desmond

Family You Property Out Maintaining Rent Get Behind Code

Almost a decade removed from the foreclosure crisis that began in 2008, the nation is facing one of the worst affordable-housing shortages in generations. Matthew Desmond

Nation Worst Crisis Facing Generations Almost Began Decade Shortages

In February 1932, the 'Times' published an account of community resistance to the eviction of three families in the Bronx, observing, 'Probably because of the cold, the crowd numbered only 1,000.' Matthew Desmond

Three Community Cold Bronx Only Crowd February Observing Because Account Times Families Published Resistance Numbered

Hundreds of data-mining companies sell landlords tenant-screening reports that list past evictions and court filings. Matthew Desmond

Past Hundreds Court Sell Reports List Landlords Companies