By LARRY BALLWAHN | Wilton
According to “Evicted” author Matthew Desmond, studies of poverty tend to explain inequality in one of two ways: “structural forces”; i.e., massive transformations of the economy, or “individual deficiencies.”
Desmond: “Why, I wondered, have we documented how the poor make ends meet without documenting why their bills are so high or where their money is flowing?”
“Evicted” follows eight Milwaukee families, but it tells an American story.” It tells an urban story, but a similar phenomenon plays outin Norwalk, Ontario and Wilton. It is less intense in the rural setting, but no less real to those who live it. Keep in mind when you read about drug use in the book that it is an epidemic in all geographic areas and at all economic levels. And while not an acceptable excuse, at least some of thepeople may have more reason to try to escape their circumstance than others.
“Evicted” is hard to read, not difficult to read, but hard to read because of the subject matter. Do people live like this? Do they have to? I suspect your answer depends on why you think the inequality happens. As indicated above, this is the story of eight Milwaukee families between May 2008 and December 2009. There is a best way to read the book, andit is not to start at the beginning.
The nonfiction story will have much validity if you read “About this Project,” which begins on page 315 first. Desmond does a good job of setting out theparameters. Then start at the beginningand share the families’ lives. That isn’t easy, because their lives aren’t easy. Finally, read the epilogue to see what, if anything, Desmond thinks can be done to address the situation.
Some excerpts:
• Fewer and fewer families can afford a roof over their head.
• In 2013, one in eight poor renting families were unable to pay all their rent, and a similar number thought it was likely they would be evicted.
• Most renters are responsible for keeping the lights and heat on.
• Since 2000, the cost of fuels and utilities has risen by 50percent.
• Rent in some of the worst neighborhoods was not drastically cheaper than rent in much better areas.
• Do you want your stuff in the truck (expensive storage) or on the curb?
• Homelessness (families with kids are the most likely to be evicted)
“Home is the center of life. It is the refuge from the grind of work, the pressure of school and the menace of the streets.”
“Evicted” is available through your public library.
