If you have someone who is paying 88 percent of her income on rent, and we have laws that allow a landlord to evict a tenant who falls behind under those circumstances, eviction becomes an inevitability.
Matthew DesmondRead
I don't want to sound Pollyannish about this. I understand that poverty is never just poverty. It's often this collection of maladies, this compounded adversity. I'm not naive about the problem. But I think that stable, steady housing is one of the surest footholds we could have on the road to financial stability.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Stable housing is crucial for overcoming poverty and achieving financial stability.
In this quote, Matthew Desmond emphasizes the complex nature of poverty, acknowledging that it encompasses various difficulties and challenges beyond mere financial constraints. He suggests that while the issue is multifaceted, having secure and stable housing is a vital step towards achieving long-term financial stability, serving as a foundational aspect in combating the various adversities associated with poverty.
Themes
PovertyHousingFinancial StabilityAdversitySocial Issues
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on social reform, one might quote Desmond to highlight the importance of housing in discussions about poverty.
More from Matthew Desmond
All quotes →Do we believe housing is a right and that affordable housing is part of what it should mean to be an American? I say yes.
Matthew DesmondRead
The texture and hardship of poverty and eviction is something that I think left the deepest impression on me, and I hope that I try to convey a little bit of that to the reader.
Matthew DesmondRead
When I was confronted with just the bare facts of poverty and inequality in America, it always disturbed and confused me.
Matthew DesmondRead
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 DesmondRead
Moms that get evicted are depressed and have higher rates of depressive symptoms two years later. That has to affect their interactions with their kids and their sense of happiness. You add all that together, and it's just really obvious to me that eviction is a cause, not just a condition, of poverty.
Matthew DesmondRead
Similar quotes
Many unhoused people work full time but earn starvation, unlivable wages. Some struggle to access mental health services or substance use treatment, making earning a consistent and stable wage nearly impossible.
Cori BushRead
When the human race neglects its weaker members, when the family neglects its weakest one - it's the first blow in a suicidal movement. I see the neglect in cities around the country, in poor white children in West Virginia and Virginia and Kentucky - in the big cities, too, for that matter.
Maya AngelouRead
India's sex ratio is 1000 boys for 940 girls. Who creates this disparity? It isn't God. Don't fill your coffers by sacrificing the mother's womb. People feel that sons will take care of them when they are old. But I have seen aged parents in old-age homes. I have seen families where one daughter serves parents more than five sons.
Narendra ModiRead
Race impacts 90 percent of our society - and I'm probably undershooting that figure. I find this fascinating and like to address it when pertinent.
Jemele HillRead
Beef is not what Jay said to Nas;_x000D_ _x000D_ Beef is when the working folks can't find jobs.
Mos DefRead
Discrimination has a lot of layers that make it tough for minorities to get a leg up.
Bill GatesRead