2023-07-07 21:43
Source: CCTV News Client
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In recent times, there has been a surge in evictions of tenants in some states and cities in the United States, and African-American groups have been particularly affected.
The Office on Evictions at Princeton University in the United States monitors nearly 30 cities in 10 states. The data shows that evictions of tenants are the most severe in three places. In Houston, Texas's largest city, the number of evictions has increased by about 50% compared to before the pandemic; In Fort Worth, Dallas, Texas, the number of evictions of renters is up 40% from pre-pandemic levels; In Columbus, Ohio, the figure is 20 percent.
Adam Chapnick, a researcher at the Office of Deportation at Princeton University: These data can indeed show that people's lives are very difficult, and it is not just numbers.
PBS reports that one of the big reasons is the increase in rents. At present, most low-income renters in the United States face the dilemma that without stable jobs and incomes, wages are not rising at the same rate as soaring prices, and it is difficult for people to find affordable housing.
According to data from the National Low Income Housing Alliance, if you want to rent a studio apartment in the United States this year, the hourly wage of tenants will reach 23.67 US dollars (about 171 yuan). That's more than three times the federal minimum wage, which is unaffordable for low-income and disabled people.
Harris County Magistrate, Texas Joe Stephens: The core issue is inflation. I think I hear every day that prices are soaring across the country and buying things are getting more expensive. Inflation, rising prices, making people lose their homes.
Evictions in the United States highlight inequality
Colored Americans face more severe housing difficulties.
According to data available to the Eviction Research Office, between June last year and early June this year, the two counties in Virginia that reported the highest number of deportations were mostly African-American. In recent years, 68 percent of evictions in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have been African-American, and African-Americans make up 42 percent of Philadelphia's total tenants. Evictions of tenants of color in New York City, New York, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Washington, D.C. are equally pronounced.
Wanda Adamsmill, Sheriff of Harris County, Texas: Many people can't afford to live on, and they have to choose between paying for medicine, food, rent. You can't stand in front of them and say, you have to pay rent.
Recently, U.S. Representative Nikema Williams of Georgia said at a hearing on housing and urban development that as of May of this year, more than 1.8 million people feared eviction within two months or foreclosure due to loan default, nearly 54% of whom were African or Hispanic.
U.S. News Review commentator Aida Rodriguez: We have the money to build museums and decorate airports. I don't want to see our tax dollars used for that. I want to use the money to build the road, but before the road is built, I want my neighbors to have a warm place to sleep, to eat, wear and warm.
Herbburn, associate director of Princeton's eviction research office, believes that while much of the housing problem is solved by local governments, the federal government can still act.
US News Review host: This is not a personal failure, this is a policy failure. Every time there is a problem of systemic homelessness and eviction of tenants, it is associated with a policy failure. What do you think we pay taxes for? What do we pay taxes in the U.S. for? It is left to politicians to solve problems. They can't solve the problem, that's their problem.