Volume 15, Issue 4

2004

 

 

Grigsby and Bourassa claim that the major problems with the housing voucher program are that most families with affordability problems are not served and that housing assistance is not part of the federal safety net. They propose replacing the program with a housing entitlement for most very low-income renters, with eligibility linked to receipt of safety-net benefits.  Resources to serve additional families would be generated in part by changes like those found in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s recent block grant proposals.

 

The Grigsby-Bourassa proposal lacks a clear assessment of likely costs. Also, there is a risk that the means the authors propose will be heard, but that their call for expansion will not. Finally, their proposal does not intersect with other ideas to modify a basically successful program to better achieve its goals, and questions about rental markets and family and landlord behavior also must be answered.