Since Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, American housing policy has focused on building homes for the poor. But seventy-five years of federal housing projects have not significantly ameliorated crime, decreased unemployment, or improved health; recent reforms have failed to revitalize low-income neighborhoods or stimulate the economy. To be successful in the twenty-first century, American housing policy must stop reinventing failed programs. Housing Policy at a Crossroads: The Why, How, and Who of Assistance Programs provides a comprehensive survey of past low-income housing programs, including public and subsidized housing, tax credits for developers, and block grants for state and local governments. John C. Weicher's comparative analysis of these programs yields several key conclusions: Affordability, not quality, is the most pressing challenge for housing policy today; of all the housing programs, vouchers have provided the most choice for the poor at the lowest cost to the taxpayer; because vouchers are much less expensive than public or subsidized housing, future subsidized projects would be an inefficient use of resources; vouchers should be offered only to the poorest members of society, ensuring that aid is available to those who need it most. At once a history of housing policy, a guide to issues confronting policymakers, and a case for vouchers as the cheapest, most effective solution, Housing Policy at a Crossroads is a timely warning that reinventing failed building programs would be a very costly wrong turn for America.

Contents List of Tables xi Preface xv Introduction 1 1. Housing Assistance and the Problems of Poverty 4 Subsidized Housing as Social Welfare Policy 4 The Logic of the Rationale 6 Subsequent Evidence 9 Secretary Kemp's "New War on Poverty" 13 Subsidized Housing as Community Development 14 Subsidized Housing as Macroeconomic Stimulus 17 The Remaining Rationale 20 2. Housing Conditions and Problems 22 The National Housing Goal 22 Affordability 23 Quality 26 The Housing Situation of Lower-Income Renters 27 Priority Problems by Household Category 31 Trends in Housing Conditions 36 Long-Term Trends in Housing Quality 38 Why Has Housing Quality Improved? 44 The Trend in Rent Burdens 47 Conclusion 53 Exhibit 2-1: Income Categories Used in Federal Housing Programs 54 Exhibit 2-2: Definitions of Inadequate Housing 55 vii Weicher.indb 7 9/15/12 6:58 PM viii Housing Polic y at a Crossroads 3. Housing Assistance Programs: Taxonomy and History 56 Public Housing 57 Privately Owned Projects 61 Tenant-Based Assistance: Section 8 Existing Housing 79 Housing Block Grants: The HOME Program 83 The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit 88 The Housing Trust Fund 92 What's Wrong with the Programs? 96 Conclusion 99 4. Program Activity and Costs in the Aggregate 101 Budgetary Cost Concepts and Basic Financing Practices 101 How Much and How Many? Dollars and Housing Units 104 Conceptual Confusions 117 Appendix to Chapter 4: HUD Funding for Rental Housing Assistance 119 HUD Budget Authority and Outlays 119 Public Housing Modernization 122 Incremental Units 122 The Total Stock of Assisted Units 123 The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit 124 5. The Voucher/Production Debate: Program Comparisons 127 Limitations of the Literature 128 "A Decent Home": Housing Quality 130 HOPE VI: A Special Situation 143 Affordability and Rent Burden 145 Subsidy Utilization and Program Participation 151 Demographics of Program Participation 155 Housing Market Effects 159 Conclusion 165 6. The Voucher/Production Debate: Neighborhood Issues 167 "A Suitable Living Environment": Where Assisted Households Live 167 Neighborhood Revitalization and Preservation 178 House Prices 185 Racial Integration 188 Weicher.indb 8 9/15/12 6:58 PM CONTENTS ix Economic Opportunity 194 Health 199 Crime 201 Conclusion 202 7. The Voucher/Production Debate: Program Costs 205 The GAO Cost Comparisons 206 Cost Comparisons between Vouchers and the Older Project-Based Programs 212 Current Cost Estimates and Comparisons 214 The Ongoing Cost of Providing Housing Assistance 222 Conclusion 225 8. The Voucher/Production Debate: Program Efficiency 226 The Concept of Program Efficiency 226 Production Efficiency 228 Consumption Efficiency 233 Overall Program Efficiency 236 Conclusion 240 9. Is There Enough Housing? 241 "Enough Housing" for What? 242 Using the Voucher to Address Housing Needs 243 The Voucher and Local Markets 246 Conclusion 250 The Comparability of Housing Outcomes 250 The Lower Cost of Vouchers 251 Reviving the Rationales for Production Programs 253 Emerging Trends in Housing Policy 253 Summing Up and Looking Ahead 257 Notes 259 References 309 About the Author 327 Weicher.