Use the right word

"In a state made up of sprawling suburbs the collapse of the housing bubble has impoverished millions and kicked tens of thousands of families out of their homes."

"Impoverished" is an adjective. It can't be used as a transitive verb. This is a maddening new trend that includes use of "disappear" similarly: She disappeared the baby. Completely meaningless. "Disappear" is an intransitive verb and that is it. "Rankle" is another word that people are increasingly mis-using: The situation rankles me. This is so wrong that it gives me a headache.

Laziness is the reason people take these supposed shortcuts, which are in fact wrong turns. Take a bit of trouble to understand the medium you use. It'll give you good karma; in a world of increasingly lower standards, I don't see any other benefit!