Bloomberg’s Housing Policies Are a Joke. Why Is Matthew Desmond Cosigning Them?
Evicted author Matthew Desmond knows how serious the housing crisis is. That makes it even more unacceptable that he’s supporting Michael Bloomberg’s neoliberal half measures, instead of Bernie Sanders’s plan for public housing construction and national rent control.
Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg receives an endorsement from Mayor Muriel Bowser during a campaign event where he spoke about affordable housing on January 30, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson / Getty Images)
New York Times best-selling author and sociologist Matthew Desmond caused a stir on Friday when he provided a glowing quote about the housing policies of Michael Bloomberg, stating that “Mike Bloomberg has a plan to address this crisis that would help millions of families. Mike’s plan will give families across the country greater economic security and the stability they need to thrive.”
Bullshit.
Desmond, the author of Evicted, a book that has garnered praise from liberal readers as well as some socialists, should know better. Putting aside Bloomberg’s record of supporting racist policing policies, downzoning segregated white areas while concentrating development in gentrifying working-class communities, and providing huge subsidies to corporate developers, and his status as a billionaire seeking to buy the presidency, his actual housing policy agenda is a disaster.
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