CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

For Millions of Impoverished Americans, an Unhappy National Birthday

Photo: Michael Slager.

Many years ago, I worked at a motel as a groundskeeper. A woman—I’ll call her Anna—lived there with her children. One of her friends would sometimes come to look after the kids when she had to work or run errands. They had several cats who spent most of their time living in the family’s car since the owner would not allow the felines to stay in the room. Both the people and the cats lived there for months.

Anna was one of thousands of Americans who live in motels. Poor credit histories, high rents, and prohibitively steep upfront costs, such as security deposits, compel many to find alternative long-term lodging that at least has some basic amenities: a kitchenette (or just a microwave) and a shower.

Although weekly rates are higher than renting even modestly priced apartments, there is often little choice. The rooms can be cramped, and they are sometimes run down. Safety can be a concern, and privacy is virtually impossible. Yet, people go to work, send their children to school, and make these places temporary homes.

Out of an approximate 755,000 unhoused people in the United States, there are no reliable estimates for the number who live in motels. I have passed by the one in the picture above (I didn’t work at this particular motel) many times; it’s in the neighborhood where I now live, and it sometimes makes me think of Anna and her family. Her kids would be adults by now, yet another generation calls such places home.

What struck me was the sign someone hung on the second-floor railing. It honors 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed. It’s a sort of birthday card for the country’s approaching semiquincentennial.

Birthdays are supposed to mark milestones and accomplishments. When it comes to national celebrations, the festivities are meant to be a collective, public........

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