Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City

Evicted sheds a unique light on the rental market from both the poor tenant and entrepreneurial landlord perspectives. Desmond dives headfirst into Milwaukee to understand the people and the housing conditions of the cheapest rentals in the white and black sides of town. His storytelling draws you in, and if it wasn't for the occasional statistic, you could easily mistake this as a work of fiction.

Rents in Seattle are soaring and homelessness is on the rise. Although I knew about these issues before reading Evicted, I didn't understand just how difficult it can be for people to make decisions on whether to pay rent, gas, electricity, or grocery bills in a given month. Once one or two payments are missed, it's nearly impossible for people to catch up since rent consumes such a significant portion of their income - paying a security deposit for a new home means something else has to give.

I agree with Desmond's final argument that government subsidies should allow more poor to reach the “spend only 30% of your income on housing” standard we have in America today. This isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, but it's a significant step in delivering basic needs and should improve our society as a whole.