Eviction is a cause, not just a condition, of poverty.
More than just a quote, this pronunciation can stand as the overarching theme of the book. A state of poverty can lead to eviction, but eviction can result in a loss of things, loss of esteem and even a loss of mental and emotional stability. These things all in turn contribute to the cycle of poverty and the difficult of making one’s way out of that economic condition.
The power to dictate who could stay and who must go; the power to expel or forgive: it was an old power, and it was not without caprice.
Eviction is not always a foregone conclusion just because one cannot make the rent payment on time. Deals are struck, exceptions are made and allowances are possible. Men more than women realize and take advantage of this; eviction is often staved off at least temporarily in exchange for cheap or even free (slave) labor. Many woman simply don’t realize there are options and others make the attempt, but have no skills deemed worth of barter by the landlords. In most cases, however, the negotiation with woman is not so much for skill or ability, but the level of desperation. The most desperate will be willing to trade sex for not being kicked out on the street. It’s good to be the king and landlords are the king of the castle when it comes to tenancy eviction.
"I have a right to live, and I have a right to live like I want to live.”
Laraine is a fifty-something white woman who is eventually evicted from her trailer. After that eviction, she blows an entire monthly food stamp allowance on a lobster and shrimp dinner. Although this behavior is viewed by other characters as an example of cause and effect—Laraine lives in poverty because she is wildly impractical with her money—the author explains that the reverse is true. Because Laraine lives in perpetual states of money problems, what is deemed wastes of money can be seen as her attempt to find some small sort of dignity. Her philosophy is made clear in the plea above, but perspective is everything on the fringes of economic deprivation.
Job loss could lead to eviction, but the reverse was also true. An eviction not only consumed renters' time, causing them to miss work… often triggering mistakes on the job… act unprofessionally… relocating farther away from their worksite, increasing their likelihood of being late or missing days.
What seems like a simplistic issue—those who can’t afford to pay their rent should expect eviction as the ultimate penalty—is proven to be much more complicated. The complexity of the economics of facing eviction extends to embrace the very ability necessary to make that money to pay that rent. Underlying this statement is the reality that even just the threat of eviction is enough to cause stress the consequences of which can hamper the business of making money.
