US Federal housing expenditures: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
imported>Tmccormick No edit summary |
Tmccormick1 (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
Line 1:
Summary:
Summary:<br/> US Federal expenditures on low-income housing have increased substantially, in absolute terms, from the 1970s to present, both in ''direct expenditures ''(spending, mostly through mainly [[United_States_Department_of_Housing_and_Urban_Development_(HUD)|HUD]]), and by ''tax expenditures ''with the [[Low-Income_Housing_Tax_Credit|Low Income Housing Tax Credit]] (LIHTC) program since 1986. However, expenditures have mostly shifted away from creating publicly-owned housing, the numbers of which have decreased since the 1990s, and have shifted towards tenant vouchers (Housing Choice Vouchers) mostly used in private housing, and privately-developed, dedicated affordable housing supported by LIHTC. LIHTC has subsidized most of the new dedicated affordable housing built in the US since 1986, around 2.4M homes, but unlike older public housing and vouchers, it typically does not provide "deep affordability" i.e. for the poorest households, but rather serves households up to 60% MFI (Median Family Income). ▼
It is often said that United States Federal spending on low-income housing was cut dramatically, by 2/3 or more, in the early 1980s as part of President Ronald Reagan's general scaleback of social-services spending. This has long and influentially been asserted, for example, by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) in their "Without Housing" campaign: see "Without Housing: Decades of Federal Housing Cutbacks, Massive Homelessness, and Policy Failures" [Wrap 2010].
However, this is at least misleading, and arguably a mostly false claim. As various sources cited below explain, US Federal expenditures on low-income housing have increased substantially, in absolute and inflation-adjusted dollar terms, from the 1970s through Reagan's presidency, and to 2019. They have increased substantially in ''direct expenditures ''(spending, mostly through [[United_States_Department_of_Housing_and_Urban_Development_(HUD)|US Department of Housing and Urban Development]]), and additionally via ''tax expenditures ''with the [[Low-Income_Housing_Tax_Credit|Low Income Housing Tax Credit]] (LIHTC) program established in 1986.
Also, the number of households receiving some type of low-income housing support has increased
▲
It is often said that Federal funding of affordable housing has been sharply cut since 1980 -- to only 1/3 of pre-1980 levels, or cut 75% or 80%. However, upon inspection, these claims usually appear to refer to one of several views: <br/> <br/> a) cuts in HUD Budget Authority, which is the sum of all future contracted spending. This dropped sharply at several points starting in early 1980s, as Reagan and other administrations sought to scale back HUD expansion. This meant that, or was handled by, slowing the rate of issuance of new housing vouchers (which automatically renew so require large future budget authority), and by steadily reducing the lengths of HUD contracts. Actual spending outlays, however, on average have continued to rise. See [https://www.yimby.wiki/wiki/US_Federal_housing_expenditures#HUD_Budget_Outlays_vs_Budget_Authority HUD Budget Outlays vs Budget Authority] section below for further discussion. <br/> <br/> b) reductions in spending specifically on public housing, and in the total remaining number of public housing units.
Line 21 ⟶ 29:
[[File:HUD-budget-1976-2007-NLIHC-chart.png|thumb|left|800px|HUD expenditures, 1976-2007, from NLIHC 2002]]
<div style="clear: both"> </div> <div style="clear: both">Dolbeare, Cushing N<sup>1</sup>., and Sheila Crowley<sup>2</sup> (2002). "Changing Priorities: The Federal Budget and Housing Assistance 1976-2007." National Low Income Housing Coalition, August 2002. [https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Changing-Priorities-Report_August-2002.pdf. https://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Changing-Priorities-Report_August-2002.pdf. ]<br/> <sup>1</sup>Founder and Chair Emeritus, National Low Income Housing Coalition<br/> <sup>2</sup>President, National Low Income Housing Coalition.
== (3) Center for Budget and Policy Priorities - 2016 report ==
<br/> Rice, Douglas. "Chart Book: Cuts in Federal Assistance Have Exacerbated Families’ Struggles to Afford Housing." Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, April 12, 2016.<br/> [https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/chart-book-cuts-in-federal-assistance-have-exacerbated-families-struggles-to-afford https://www.cbpp.org/research/housing/chart-book-cuts-in-federal-assistance-have-exacerbated-families-struggles-to-afford].
Line 105 ⟶ 111:
For the "''spent about three times as much" ''figure, the article cites Yentel's testimony, see above.
<div style="clear: both"> </div>
@MKushel Margot Kushel Jul 23, 2019<br/> Living in encampments is NOT a choice but a
{{#widget:Tweet
| |||