1ST INDEPENDENT BOOK SHARING
1st Independent Book Sharing
The book that I selected for this discussion is, Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matthew Desmond. From the onset, it would be prudent to note that this is one of the most informative books I have read in recent times. What interests me most about this particular book is the extent to which the author goes to uncover some hidden aspects of poverty in the United States, i.e. in relation to causes and consequences of poverty. To a large extent, this particular book broadened my viewpoint and/or perspective about poverty and its key triggers.
In as far as the central argument of this particular book is concerned, I think the author attempts to argue that our understanding of poverty is largely inaccurate. In deriving some of his conclusions, the author in this case relies on varied data, i.e. the proportion of income being spent on housing, individual debt figures, eviction rates during the 2008 economic crisis, gender disparities in eviction, etc. The author of this particular book appears to draw from the family process theory specifically indicating that long-term stability of families and general wellbeing of members could be reinforced by stable housing. Indeed, as Mayberry, Shinn, Benton, and Wise (2014) observe, family processes theoretically mediate the effects of stressors associated with poverty and and interviews in which case he engages a total of 8 households and their landlords. The author makes an interesting finding...
…to secure the wellbeing of tenants whose household incomes happen to be below the median.In as much as Desmonds work is informative, it would be prudent to note that the author fails to prominently underline the contribution that other equally important factors play in the inability of individuals/households to pay rent. One such factor which is surprisingly common among a good number of those interviewed by Desmond is poor life decisions. For instance Lorraine has traits of extravagance; Lamar has had a serious drug addiction problem that resulted in the loss of his lower limbs; and Scott lost his nursing license due to his addiction to opioids. Thus, in as much as evictions could be a prominent cause of poverty, one other equally important factor that ought to have been clearly highlighted…
References
Desmond, M. (2016). Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. Penguin Books Limited.
Mayberry, L.S., Shinn, M., Benton, J.G. & Wise, J. (2014). Families Experiencing Housing Instability: The Effects of Housing Programs on Family Routines and Rituals. Am J Orthopsychiatry, 84(1), 95-109.
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