Famous Matthew Desmond Quotes

Families with children were turned away in as many as 7 in 10 housing searches.– Matthew Desmond

In 1930, the death rate for Milwaukee’s blacks was nearly 60 percent higher than the citywide rate, due in large part to poor housing conditions.– Matthew Desmond

It was not that low-income renters didn’t know their rights. They just knew those rights would cost them.– Matthew Desmond

No moral code or ethical principle, no piece of scripture or holy teaching, can be summoned to defend what we have allowed our country to become.– Matthew Desmond

Eviction is a cause, not just a condition, of poverty.– Matthew Desmond

No one thought the poor more undeserving than the poor themselves.– Matthew Desmond

By and large, the poor do not want some small life. They don’t want to game the system or eke out an existence; they want to thrive and contribute.– Matthew Desmond

