Americans Are Working Full-Time And Still Houseless

Standing in line at the grocery store: I'm thinking about this book.

Stuck in traffic while it's raining: I'm thinking about this book.

Sitting at the kitchen table with my "happy light" on and mulling over medical plans for 2026: I'm thinking about this book.

There's No Place For Us: Working And Homeless In America by Brian Goldstone is a book that I finished two nights ago and it took me about two weeks of constant nighttime reading to complete. It is heartbreaking and terrifying and enraging all at the same time. It tells the stories of five Atlanta families that work hard only to fall into the grips of homelessness. The book also tells the story of how the very corporations that push people to have no home benefit and make millions.

In eight months, they spent $17,000 on the extended-stay room, nearly twice as much as they had paid on their old apartment.

Goldstone (author) said, "I think it's really important that we not talk about all of these families and individuals as if they're falling into homelessness; they are being pushed. This is an engineered neglect, and at every turn there are entire business models that are set up to capitalize on their predicament."

Before reading these stories, I was extremely ignorant on how extended-stay hotels prey on desperate families. And, that these families are also considered houseless. Every time I see a new multi-use-super-fancy apartment building that sells $9 cappuccinos next door I feel... the grime of greed. (Just taking a peek now - a one bedroom/one bathroom that's 600 square feet is going for just over $1900/month.) This isn't in Seattle-proper. This is a suburb. And that rate doesn't include parking and other fees that may be tacked on to the monthly rent cost.

I've been wanting to post about reading this book for a while, but am still processing what I read because, honestly, it's frustrating. The chasm between the haves and have-nots is growing overnight, quickly and corporations are benefitting in every category: housing, medical insurance, etc. 

How and why is this being allowed? 

(I already know the answer.)