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Why would they not just stay in their own house?

[You know, just the normal houses the city provides? Ingo can comprehend buying houses generally - the standard homes in Jubilife are all more-or-less identical, just like the normal Clan tents. If you want something special or very large, you'd have to do extra work! But it hardly seems a necessity!]

Because they don't have one of their own.

[Emmet wonders if Ingo forgot about his friends in the Subway Tunnels!]

They could have lost it due to fiscal reasons, or kicked out, or something.

Well, what about the city housing? I know they are often too full, but peoples' homes cannot be destroyed in such numbers that frequently?

[Obviously the city housing system is overwhelmed, which is rather shameful and ought to be dealt with! But there have been very significant disasters recently, and he supposes re-construction of anything destroyed before the apocalypse window must have just started?]

You mean like housing assistance?

[That is what Ingo must mean, right?]

A lot of landlords don't take housing vouchers, if there is even a program like that here.

No, the human 38-8. Whatever it's called.

[Ingo's never sought it out, because...well, why would he?]

There is no 'Human 38-8'.

Oh, are they individual homes?

Big Brother, there are no houses for them. Society does not give away homes because they would see it as a luxury instead of a need. They would say the houseless can get tents and boxes and go live in alleys and the woods.

[Emmet seems a little surprised Ingo doesn't know that.]

...but that's what a town is. Jubilife Town builds homes for all the settlers who come! I think they are rather too strict about who may do that, but if one of their workers was unable to work for a while, I do not suppose they would throw them out.

[He's heard only vaguely of what happened with Akari; he was nowhere near involved with the town at that time. Mostly he's aware that everyone there, even she who was not expected, just got a house!]

Of course we do not have permanent dwellings of that sort, but if we needed another tent, we would just make one. It happens often enough, when children grow old enough to require their own space.

[Emmet reaches for his beer and takes a swig. Of all the conversations Emmet could have had with Ingo, Emmet could only think of one that might be more uncomfortable.]

They don't build houses for people here unless they pay for the materials, labor, and stuff. Or buy someone else's old home. You can take out a loan but you usually need to be in a decent standing financially and they will add interest to the repayment. If you can not do this, you can pay to live in someone else's home. It is usually the amount of the mortgage plus an amount for 'wear and tear', plus a little more on top of that for profit. If you lose your job and can not pay for the loans or rent, they will evict you from the house.

...but that's just terrible! There are so many buildings in that city, there must be more than enough room! Space is a gift for everyone, which belongs to everyone!

Lots of people don't think that way, sadly. They have this verrry bad idea that if you can't afford a house or apartment, you're being a drain somehow.

There's plenty of them. It's wasteful to let them stand empty if someone needs it!

I think it is wasteful too, yup. But if a soul-eater tried to eat from a landlord or a banker, I don't think they would get anything.

Hm...

[Ingo goes a little quiet, mulling over the people down in the tunnels. He always assumed they must have been crowded out of the public housing after some disaster; a lot of them move about, and he figured that when they were not in the subway, they had found a proper place to stay. But do they just really have nowhere to stay at all? Temporary accommodations are one thing, but the space could be improved if it's for something permanent...

He doesn't verbalize this. He hasn't been talking a lot about all that in general - he already knows it's absolutely nothing compared to all the harm he's caused, he doesn't need to hear about it from Emmet.]

Plus I hate how it creates a self-feeding cycle, yup. They lose their job, they lose their home, they can not find a new job because they do not have an address...

Why do they need an address to get a job?

Because it makes employers think that they just won't up and leave overnight.

Anyone can do that.

[But it's sort of just grumbling. There's really no point in arguing about this with Emmet; they're clearly in agreement about how much sense it all makes.]

Yup, but they feel if people have made the investment of a residence, they won't.

[A beat.]

Can you imagine how much money a billionaire has?

A billion, I suppose?

[He knows about numbers!]

I cannot imagine what could possibly cost that much. I do not think I have ever spent more than a hundred at a time.

Nothing costs enough for that, but to put it in perspective how much more money that is why billionaires should buy a few million bikes and get over it. I would have to work 69,000 years to get that much.

[Emmet knew this factoid from a Tinkatok video!]

He ought to just give it away. Without these games.

[Ingo frowns, more intentionally, at the card. He'd sort of thought that already, but especially if the man just has that much money for no reason!]

You would think, yup. But rich people don't experience empathy. Have a distant cousin like that.

Do we?

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