Author: Alexandra Coffman
Amidst growing inequality for renters, Arkansas Community Organizations and Arkansas Renters United held a housing rally Thursday, September 26th at 11:00am to help raise the living standards for Arkansas renters. Some demands are to have the mayor and city board declare a housing crisis in the city, abolish excessive fees that compound the economic struggle renters are already facing, build up rental assistance programs, and repeal the criminal eviction law. The Committee of Labor for Arkansas Workers joined this rally in support.
Housing Crisis for who?
Arkansas is the only state to not adopt the implied warranty of habitability, meaning unless specifically stated in the lease, the landlord is not required to make any repairs to the property. A tenant cannot withhold paying rent as a bargaining chip for the landlord to make repairs, even if they were told they were going to be done. Arkansas also has the “failure to vacate law.” In some counties, if a tenant is even one day late on rent, they may be served a 10 day eviction notice by the landlord, and if they do not vacate by the end of the 10 days, they may be fined for each day they do not pay, and even charged with a misdemeanor. These pro landlord policies are a direct attack on the Arkansas working class. Expecting people who cannot afford their rent to be able to pay late fees, court fees to fight against landlords, or fines, is astounding. An actual tip from the Arkansas Attorney General website is to, “Always pay your rent on time.” This is completely devoid of the material reality the working class is facing today and the struggles they are dealing with. No renter is saying to themselves, “Gee, I’m just not going to pay my rent this month!” And risk being homeless on purpose.
According to a recent report by the USDA, Arkansas ranks number one for the highest rate of food insecurity, at 18.9%, 5.4% above the national average, and the combined poverty rates between rural and urban communities amount to 16%. United for ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) notes that out of 1.2 million households, “1 in 2 can’t make ends meet.” 31% of households are ALICE, meaning they are working people who make more than enough to qualify for assistance programs, but are still struggling to get by. While inflation is down, that is in relation to the excessive price gouging seen during the pandemic. In comparison to what they were before the global pandemic, prices are still high. The cost of living keeps rising, but wages are not in relation to these rises. From The National Low Income Housing Coalition a renter to afford a one bedroom Fair Market rent at minimum wage, would require working 57 hours a week.. That’s not living, it is surviving.
The capitalists and their system rely on people staying in poverty to maintain the class domination they have over the workers. These conditions can ultimately only be changed through working class solidarity. As we have seen, no one else is going to save us but ourselves; Not the billionaires who live off the blood, sweat, and tears of workers domestically and abroad; not the leeching landlords who sit back and collect their “passive income” from working class people; Not the politicians who do whatever they can to capitulate to owning class rule while maintaining the facade of being “for the people.” A system which allows working people and their children to go hungry, lose sleep over fear of not having a roof over their heads, nor even have the time to enjoy life-while those very people are toiling to provide excessive wealth for leeches- cannot remain intact forever. It is time for a workers party to represent Arkansans. The Committee of Labor for Arkansas Workers Party is determined to build class consciousness and mobilize the working class, so we may all share in the coffers of wealth built by the labor of the masses. The only way to achieve true liberation and democracy is not through the capitalist system, but by having class unity and fighting back to create a workers state.
Committee of Labor for Arkansas Workers Party 