Status Updates From Poverty, by America

“You can read injections against usury…”

“ If millions of poor renters accept exploitative housing conditions, it’s not because they can’t afford better alternatives; it’s because they often aren’t offered any.”

“ Why don’t poor families move to better neighborhoods if rents there are not that much higher? This question assumes that poor families move like affluent families do: to secure better homes, neighborhoods, schools. But it’s more often the case that poor families experience moves not as opportunities, but emergencies, even traumas.”

“… poor people - and particularly poor Black families - don’t have much choice when it comes to where they can live. Because of that, landlords can overcharge them, and they do.”

“ There exists a long history of slum exploitation in America. Money made slums because slums made money.”

The Panic of 1837

“ Our economic freedom is limited when we don’t have resources at our disposal. When we don’t own property or can’t access credit, we become dependent on people who do and can, which in turn invites exploitation because a bad deal for you is a good deal for me. When someone has us over a barrel, we are at their mercy.”

“ What do we deny workers when we deny them living wages so that we may enjoy more wealth and cheap goods? Happiness, health-life itself. Is this the capitalism we want, the capitalism we deserve?”