79-12-A4
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Government Housings[edit]
Transcript[edit]You may be surprised to learn that most federal welfare is no longer paid to beneficiaries in cash. The lion's share of welfare today is dispensed in the form of various benefits. The government plays "doctor" to millions with its Medicaid program, and it plays "grocer" with food stamps. But Washington Post reporter Peter Milius has discovered that the fastest growing welfare program of all is housing subsidies. The federal government has now become landlord to millions of Americans. Housing subsidies will cost the taxpayer $5 billion this year, an increase of $3 billion in just five years. Based on commitments Washington has already made, these costs will double to $10 billion in a few years. The Office of Management and Budget has estimated that by 1984, housing subsidies will cost as much as the ever-expanding food stamp program. Government budget watchers are concerned that, now unleashed, the housing program will expand out of control, just as the food stamp and medical programs have. As Mr. Milius explains--"The Medicaid and food stamp programs snuck up on government policymakers; their costs were high before many people were fully aware they even existed. Medicaid in just fourteen years has become the largest of all federal welfare programs. Food stamps are second-largest--faced now with a third in-kind program still in fledgling form, O.M.B. has been understandably wary." Together, these programs have transformed the national welfare system. Less than half of all welfare is now paid in cash. What are these little-known housing subsidy programs which already aid one out of every twenty-five American households? Most federally subsidized housing falls into two categories. The first is the traditional public housing program. The government owns the land and pays construction costs. Tenants pay only the operating costs of their units. The other housing program--the one that is expanding at a breakneck pace--is called "Section 8." In this program, the housing remains in the hands of a private owner. A fair rent is determined by the owner and the government. The tenant pays part of the rent, usually set at twenty-five percent of his income. The government pays the rest. The "Section 8" program has been under attack of late in Congress because of Congressional fears that its costs will continue to spiral out of control. In this year's housing authorization bill, the House has voted to make some tenants of Section 8 housing pay thirty percent of their incomes in rent. The Senate has yet to act on these changes. Strong supporters of federally subsidized housing programs argue that it is only fair that low income Americans receive this support. Middle income taxpayers, they point out, are granted homeowner tax deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes. These forms of tax forgiveness will cost the U.S. Treasury $16 billion this year. But we should not lost sight of the fact that tax breaks are not subsidies. By granting tax relief, the government is graciously allowing these homeowners to keep a little more of what they earn. Without careful monitoring and continuous re-evaluation of the public housing and "Section 8" programs, we will witness the uncontrolled growth of another federal welfare program. As Senator William Proxmire put it--"It is simply not possible for the program to increase at past rates while the federal budget as a whole is constrained. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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