It required all his delicate Epicurean education to prevent his doing something about it; he had to repeat over to himself his favorite notions: that the injustice and unhappiness in the world is a constant; that the theory of progress is a delusion; that the poor, never having known happiness, are insensible to misfortune. Like all the rich he could not bring himself to believe that the poor (look at their houses, look at their clothes) could really suffer. Like all the cultivated he believed that only the widely read could be said to know that they were unhappy.
When tenants relinquished protections by falling behind in rent or otherwise breaking their rental agreement, landlords could respond_by neglecting repairs. Or as Sherrena put it to tenants: __f I give you a break, you give me a break._ Tenants could trade their dignity and children__ health for a roof over their head. 13 Between 2009 and 2011, nearly half of all renters in Milwaukee experienced a serious and lasting housing problem. 14 More than 1 in 5 lived with a broken window; a busted appliance; or mice, cockroaches, or rats for more than three days. One-third experienced clogged plumbing that lasted more than a day. And 1 in 10 spent at least a day without heat. African American households were the most likely to have these problems__s were those where children slept. Yet the average rent was the same, whether an apartment had housing problems or did_not. Tenants who fell behind either had to accept unpleasant, degrading, and sometimes dangerous housing conditions or be evicted. But from a business point of view, this arrangement could be lucrative.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
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When tenants relinquished protections by falling behind in rent or otherwise breaking their rental agreement, landlords could respond_by neglecting repairs. Or as Sherrena put it to tenants: __f I give you a break, you give me a break._ Tenants could trade their dignity and children__ health for a roof over their head. 13 Between 2009 and 2011, nearly half of all renters in Milwaukee experienced a serious and lasting housing problem. 14 More than 1 in 5 lived with a broken window; a busted appliance; or mice, cockroaches, or rats for more than three days. One-third experienced clogged plumbing that lasted more than a day. And 1 in 10 spent at least a day without heat. African American households were the most likely to have these problems__s were those where children slept. Yet the average rent was the same, whether an apartment had housing problems or did_not. Tenants who fell behind either had to accept unpleasant, degrading, and sometimes dangerous housing conditions or be evicted. But from a business point of view, this arrangement could be lucrative.
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