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Noah Smith: Rent for the poorest Americans really is too high

Having a secure place to sleep is one of the most basic human needs — it has not changed since the first caveman crawled under a rock to escape the rain.

Delmi Ruiz, 41, who is five months pregnant, works in the kitchen area of her RV parked in front of an apartment building, where the monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit is more than $3000, Monday, Oct. 23, 2017, in Mountain View, Calif. Ruiz and her husband, who works as a landscaper earning minimum wage, have been living in the RV for more than two years with their four children after they could no longer afford the rent. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Delmi Ruiz, 41, who is five months pregnant, works in the kitchen area of her RV parked in front of an apartment building, where the monthly rent for a one-bedroom unit is more than $3000, Monday, Oct. 23, 2017, in Mountain View, Calif. Ruiz and her husband, who works as a landscaper earning minimum wage, have been living in the RV for more than two years with their four children after they could no longer afford the rent. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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By Noah Smith | Bloomberg View