230 Quotes by Matthew Desmond

Poverty is not just a sad accident, but it's also a result of the fact that some people make a lot of money off low-income families and directly contribute to their poverty.

I felt that writing about peoples' lives was a heck of a responsibility, and I wanted to know them in a deep way.

Exploitation. Now, there's a word that has been scrubbed out of the poverty debate.

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

A lot flows from the question: Is having decent, stable housing part of what it means to live in this country? And I think we should answer 'yes.'

Most Americans think that the typical low - income family lives in public housing or gets housing assistance. The opposite is true.

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.

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

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