While the Trump adminstration’s aim is sometimes questionable, you have to give them credit for aiming high. Housing secretary Dr. Ben Carson proposed major changes to the agency’s rental-housing program last week.
It would increase the share of income that tenants must pay for rent and also would allow public housing authorities to set work requirements for residents.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has 4.5 million people living in public housing, from projects to Section 8 rentals. The administration wants to more closely connect poverty assistance programs to employment, with the focus on getting people off public aid instead of expanding benefits.
Broadly speaking, that’s a commendable goal. Carson’s public housing proposal, which must be approved by Congress, would increase the share of income that rental assistance recipients pay HUD to 35 percent from the current 30. Perhaps more importantly, it would allow HUD to verify renters’ income every three years instead of annually, giving them the chance to increase their pay without the rent going up for a longer period.
The concept sounds great: Get more people off public assistance. But the devil is in the details, and half a century of massive government assistance to the poor has not helped. If it is time to try something new, it will be a long, difficult mission.
It sounds like Carson & Co. are following Trump’s orders to shake things up. But to make anything substantial happen, they’ll need to get plenty of congressmen and senators on board. That may be the biggest challenge of all.
— Jack Ryan, Enterprise-Journal
