Fran Quigley, author of and professor of, spoke at the UUJEC annual meeting on July 26, 2025; he prepared these talking points in response to requests from those in attendance.
THE PROBLEM:
In the U.S., 22.5 million people living in households behind on rent (equivalent to the population of Pennsylvania and Illinois combined); 3.6 million evictions a year, 700,000 homeless on any given night.
Who is getting evicted:
- Parents with children (children are the dominant demographic of who gets evicted)
- Food service, warehouse work, home healthcare—important jobs, some of largest employment sectors. But pay sub-living wages.
- When a car breaks down or a kid gets sick and work hours are missed, they can’t pay rent
- Statistic that is almost cliché: half of all Americans one paycheck away from homelessness. We see that come true in eviction court.
- Seniors and persons living with disabilities (fixed income)
- fixed income as low as the $967/month maximum SSI check
- Paying 90-100% on rent and that ends up falling apart when unexpected medical expense etc. comes up—or just pushed out by gentrification and can’t afford to move
Why are they getting evicted:
- Can’t afford market rate rent;
- Can’t access subsidized housing they qualify for
Cruel musical chairs game:
Only 1 in 4 households that are eligible for subsidized housing actually receive it.
THE SOLUTION:
End game:
More and better public housing.
Interim steps:
Make housing assistance an entitlement like food stamps, Medicaid. Until all low-income people can escape the private rental market, rent control—which is successful in 180 U.S. cities (we already do price control for other necessities like healthcare, utilities, etc. )
How do we know the solutions work?
Examples in other nations where they rarely have evictions and very few homeless people prove it. Examples: Vienna and Singapore where 60% of people live in government-subsidized housing
How do we know the solutions work?
U.S. history, where evictions and homeless shelters were once rare before Reagan-era slashing of housing programs
How do we pay for these fixes?
Change who gets government subsidized housing. Reduce billions in tax breaks to corporate landlords and wealthiest homeowners.
- We spend billions on corporate landlords (capital gains exemptions, pass-through deductions, depreciation, property tax exemptions, etc.)
- Example: Stephen Ross, $1.5 billion in real estate income over 10 years, $0 in taxes
- Homeowners: if we have mortgage, we have government subsidized housing: mortgage interest deduction, 30 years, no tax on sales profits up to $500k
Reverse what Dr. King rightly said happens in U.S. society: we have socialism for rich and rugged individualism for the poor.
OPTIMISM FOR CHANGE:
- Eviction court watchers (often from interfaith coalitions) are making an impact in communities—there is a place for this activity in every community
- Tenant unions are surging and making an impact as well—tenants need community support when they come together to take on housing injustice