Diane S ☔'s Reviews > Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

I actually finished this last night, and since then have been trying to figure out how to process my feelings and thoughts about this book. Raised in Chicago I am aware of the housing crisis, remember well both the crime ridden, drug and gang infested, Robert Taylor homes and Cabrini Green. Public housing failures. Although this book is about Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the author states this is a crisis effecting any large, urban city. Following eight families, two landlords we are personally made aware of their struggles, evictions, loss of security, children and day to day poverty. No one can afford to put 80% of their income towards rent.

There are no winners here, this is definitely not a happy little book. These people live sad lives, so sad I can't even imagine. It hurts, hurts that in this country of plenty, so many do without. They are caught in a whirlwind from which they cannot escape. Yes, sometimes I wanted to tell them, stop the drugs, stop having children you cannot afford, take care of what you have even if it is substandard. I'm only human, my feelings, my thoughts are ones that say, never give up! But....as you read, you cannot help but understand, more and more. They try, until they can't anymore. Landlords take their money, fix little, water, heat, not their primary concern. They fix little, knowing their are so many desperate people out there, they will find someone to rent despite what is within.

The author, rightly states, something must be done. His thoughts turn to universal housing vouchers, where the poor would only have to pay up to 35% of their salary, the government picking up the rest.
This way they could move anywhere, not just poor, crime ridden neighborhoods. In a equal world this woukd be perfect, but he does mention that even that idea has defects, as many in better neighborhoods don't want those kind of people as neighbors. You can mandate change, but changing people's biases are much harder. Sociological problems are the hardest to solve. Dr