Photo / Erik McGregor
“They have trillions of dollars to take out from our taxes, from our money, to bail out Wall Street. They need to bring that money to us. Working people need rent cancellation today!” These were the words of a young woman taking part last May in a 40-city car caravan calling for rent cancellation as long as needed. Rent strikes are going on around the country.
A tsunami of evictions – by one estimate 28 million – threatens to heap homelessness and misery on top of the already widespread death and suffering. This would be a social catastrophe unparalleled in this country’s history. How many families will end up in the streets to join those already living and dying there?
During the Covid-19 pandemic, when an estimated 40 percent of the U.S. workforce is jobless, a movement to cancel rent is growing. The demand is for a suspension of rents until workplaces can safely open and people get back to work and back on their feet; and for continued support, in the form of a universal basic income, for those whose jobs have disappeared, as companies take advantage of the pandemic to further automate, and others go out of business.
Though some cities passed a patchwork of moratoriums on payment of rent, the national moratorium ended July 24. Those whose rent has only been delayed may face eviction and homelessness if they cannot pay it.
If the government can give trillions of our tax dollars to huge corporations, which then use much of the money for stock buy-backs and fat bonuses for their CEOs, it can find the money to provide for the people. Housing must be a right and a social priority, with people protected from foreclosure and eviction, and those already homeless given housing, now and permanently. A massive movement is forming to demand just that.
