--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Instability is not inherent to poverty…" description: "\"“Instability is not inherent to poverty. Poor families move so much because they are forced to. Along”\" — Matthew Desmond" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/matthew-desmond-1529_family_instability-is-not-inherent-to-poverty-p_1882505.jpg" --- # Instability is not inherent to poverty. Poor families move… ![“Instability is not inherent to poverty. Poor families move so much because they are forced to. Along” quote by Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/matthew-desmond-1529_family_instability-is-not-inherent-to-poverty-p_1882505.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/matthew-desmond-1529_family_instability-is-not-inherent-to-poverty-p_1882505.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/matthew-desmond-1529_family_instability-is-not-inherent-to-poverty-p_1882505.jpg) > ““Instability is not inherent to poverty. Poor families move so much because they are forced to. Along”” [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Poverty forces families to move frequently, not because instability is natural but due to external pressures **In simple terms:** Forced moves stem from economic hardship Key Takeaway Advocate for stable housing policies Themes poverty housing mobility Mood concerned empathetic Type social policy When to use this quote - urban policy - social work - community planning Key Concepts systemic inequality social determinants Questions to Reflect On - What policies could reduce forced mobility? - How does housing instability affect children? A Different Perspective Stability also depends on broader economic factors ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Instability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instability/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) ## Related quotes > [As discomfiting as it is to both market optimists and policy activists, a certain amount of instability is inherent to the economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-postrel/as-discomfiting-as-it-is-to-both-market-optimists-and-policy/) [Virginia Postrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-postrel/) > [“Families who spend more on housing spend less on their children.23 Poor families are living above their means, in apartments they cannot afford. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/families-who-spend-more-on-housing-spend-less-on-their-children-23/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Eviction riots erupted during the Depression, though the number of poor families who faced eviction each year was a fraction of what it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/eviction-riots-erupted-during-the-depression-though-the-number-of/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Most poor families are living completely unassisted in a private rental market, devoting most of their income to housing. When you meet people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/most-poor-families-are-living-completely-unassisted-in-a-private/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [The high cost of housing is crushing poor families and sending them to a state of desperation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/the-high-cost-of-housing-is-crushing-poor-families-and-sending-them/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Poor families are living above their means, in apartments they cannot afford. The thing is, those apartments are already at the bottom of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/poor-families-are-living-above-their-means-in-apartments-they-cannot/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [The rich are richer, and the poor are poorer, in the city than elsewhere; and, as a rule, the greater are the riches of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josiah-strong/the-rich-are-richer-and-the-poor-are-poorer-in-the-city-than/) [Josiah Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josiah-strong/) > [The poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-gutierrez/the-poverty-of-the-poor-is-not-a-call-to-generous-relief-action-but-a/) [Gustavo Gutiérrez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-gutierrez/) > [“Certainly, the wealth of the rich is a consequence of the poverty of the poor. (Lori Altmann, p. 85)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mev-puleo/certainly-the-wealth-of-the-rich-is-a-consequence-of-the-poverty-of/) [Mev Puleo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mev-puleo/) > [Everywhere you will find that the wealth of the wealthy springs from the poverty of the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everywhere-you-will-find-that-the-wealth-of-the-wealthy-springs-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Slowly, God is opening my eyes to needs all around me. In Scripture, God revisits this issue of caring for the poor- an echo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-feinberg/slowly-god-is-opening-my-eyes-to-needs-all-around-me-in-scripture-god/) [Margaret Feinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-feinberg/) > [“If your expenditure brings you poverty, then you may call yourself a poor but the world will call you a fool.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/if-your-expenditure-brings-you-poverty-then-you-may-call-yourself-a/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [But the poor person does not exist as an inescapable fact of destiny. His or her existence is not politically neutral, and it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustavo-gutierrez/but-the-poor-person-does-not-exist-as-an-inescapable-fact-of-destiny/) [Gustavo Gutiérrez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustavo-gutierrez/) > [The greatest poverty one can have is to be poor in one's heart and for falling in love, he is truly happy. He discovers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/the-greatest-poverty-one-can-have-is-to-be-poor-in-one-s-heart-and/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) > [“For the creator there is no poverty and no poor, indiferent place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/for-the-creator-there-is-no-poverty-and-no-poor-indiferent-place/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## More by Matthew Desmond > [I don't think we can fix poverty without fixing housing, and I don't think we can address housing without understanding landlords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-don-t-think-we-can-fix-poverty-without-fixing-housing-and-i-don-t/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [If we continue to tolerate this level of poverty in our cities, and go along with eviction as commonplace in poor neighborhoods, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/if-we-continue-to-tolerate-this-level-of-poverty-in-our-cities-and-go/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [You see one eviction, and you're overcome, but then there's another one and another one and another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/you-see-one-eviction-and-you-re-overcome-but-then-there-s-another-one/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [When I talk to booksellers, they tell me how hard it is to hand-sell some of my books because I do keep popping around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/when-i-talk-to-booksellers-they-tell-me-how-hard-it-is-to-hand-sell/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Housing being a top-order issue for cities is something that's not trivial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/housing-being-a-top-order-issue-for-cities-is-something-that-s-not/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [I think that we value fairness in this country. We value equal opportunity. Without a stable home, those ideals really fall apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-think-that-we-value-fairness-in-this-country-we-value-equal/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Exploitation. Now, there's a word that has been scrubbed out of the poverty debate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/exploitation-now-there-s-a-word-that-has-been-scrubbed-out-of-the/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [I think there are ways that graduate students can fact-check their work. I think there are ways that we can do this that don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/i-think-there-are-ways-that-graduate-students-can-fact-check-their/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Fire itself is very beautiful, and there's an attachment to fire that firefighters have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/fire-itself-is-very-beautiful-and-there-s-an-attachment-to-fire-that/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [“Sherrena nodded reassuringly and said, almost to herself, “I guess I got to stop feeling sorry for these people because nobody is feeling sorry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/sherrena-nodded-reassuringly-and-said-almost-to-herself-i-guess-i-got/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [Everywhere else, we are someone else, but at home, we remove our masks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/everywhere-else-we-are-someone-else-but-at-home-we-remove-our-masks/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [A community that sees so clearly its own disadvantage or its own hardships also has a harder time seeing its potential: its ability to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/a-community-that-sees-so-clearly-its-own-disadvantage-or-its-own/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [“It was once said that the poor are 'constantly exposed to evidence of their own irrelevance.' Especially for poor African-American families - who live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/it-was-once-said-that-the-poor-are-constantly-exposed-to-evidence-of/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [A universal voucher program would change the face of poverty in this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/a-universal-voucher-program-would-change-the-face-of-poverty-in-this/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) > [“Wildland firefighters do not enjoy the cultural prestige that structural firefighters do. They do not wax their fire engines and cruise down the local…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-desmond/wildland-firefighters-do-not-enjoy-the-cultural-prestige-that/) [Matthew Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) [Explore all 230 Matthew Desmond quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-desmond/) ## More Family quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. 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"But I can't go live with him, because him and his hot girlfriend are going off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/so-jace-is-my-actual-family-kit-said-but-i-can-t-go-live-with-him/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I have friends and family that identify as LGBTQ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mace/i-have-friends-and-family-that-identify-as-lgbtq/) [Nancy Mace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mace/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [“She knew how to play him so very well. He slipped his hand around hers. "Friends," he repeated roughly. Her smile was bright enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-smith/she-knew-how-to-play-him-so-very-well-he-slipped-his-hand-around-hers/) [Kathryn Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-smith/) > [As a family, we all loved the Flyers. To me, rooting for the Flyers were how I bonded with my dad especially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-f-goldberg/as-a-family-we-all-loved-the-flyers-to-me-rooting-for-the-flyers-were/) [Adam F. Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-f-goldberg/) > [The people have always been family to me here in Las Vegas. 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