Posted on 06/30/2011 5:32:34 AM PDT by Liz
FAIRFAX, Va. -- Resort-style swimming pools with fountains and heated spas, billiards rooms, granite counter tops, ceramic tile, indoor basketball courts, stainless steel appliances -- many Fairfax County taxpayers cannot afford such luxuries. But they are paying for these amenities for use by low-income residents who live in subsidized housing in affluent neighborhoods. "They're a part of our rental program where we subsidize the rents for the individuals in the units, and we end up having to pick up the condo fees," supervisor Pat Herrity told 630 WMAL News.
Herrity does not advocate putting low-income residents in "ghetto-style" housing but he takes issue with taxpayers who cannot afford such luxuries being forced to pick up the tab for people who qualify for subsidized housing. "These are resort-style amenities that the majority of the taxpayers that are subsidizing it don't have on their own," said Herrity, adding that "luxury has no place in subsidized housing." "If the occupants of these homes improve their lives financially, they will be forced to move out.
And the housing they could afford without the taxpayer subsidy is well below the quality of these homes," he said. Herrity said Fairfax County should sell subsidized housing units located in affluent neighborhoods and stop paying the condo fees. "Why would we have taxpayers who are trying to work their way into these neighborhoods pay for somebody else to be put into these neighborhoods," said Herrity.
PHOTOS LINK AT WEB SITE: Examples of Homes and Amenities Provided at Taxpayers' Expense in the County's Rental Program
Subsidized housing in Fairfax Va.
WMAL NEWS SITE BLOGGER When I worked for Connecticut Legal Services (a “poor people” tax exempt legal outfit) we defended a client from eviction whose Section 8 housing allowance was $1,800 a month in Greenwich, Connecticut, the richest town in Connecticut — it would be about $2,500 a month in today’s money. Why? Because there weren’t enough poor people in Greenwich.
I have observed here in detroit, that the “poor, hungry” people are on average morbidly obese....why is that?
Because their food choices are as poor as the rest of their life decisions.
Racists and autoracists who sincerely believe “whitey owes these people”.
Tip of the iceberg here in Fairfax County. You can sit in the same traffic jam for 15 years and they won’t do a damned thing with the road but if you need a homeless shelter or halfway house, there’s one not more than 3-4 miles away from wherever you are.
Good point. Being lazy and lacking self control don't get you very far in life.
B I N G O!!!!
this is legacy of bill clinton and andrew cuomo.
The purpose of Section 8 housing is to import Democrat voters into non-Democrat strongholds and overwhelm the non-Democrat vote.
Fixed it.
This topic was just covered the other day, discussing houses in upper-end subdivisions, including in my area (Charlotte, NC). Property-owners, who are often banks these days, love these arrangements because it get income flowing on their myriads of vacant units.
Of course they’re doing something about the traffic: making it worse. It doesn’t matter what road you get on around here, all of them are under construction, and have been for years. How many exits are now closed on 495? Telegraph road should be declared a disaster area. And don’t get me started on the 66 left-exit off the inner loop of 495 where everyone waits until the last possible second to get over and then slams on their brakes.
Will the construction on the GW Parkway EVER get done? And what exactly are they doing, anyway? It looks exactly the same as it did four years ago before they started.
CUOMO AND BILL CLINTON CREATED CONDITIONS FOR MELTDOWN Andrew Cuomo, the youngest Housing and Urban Development secretary in history, made a series of decisions between 1997 and 2001 that gave birth to the country’s current crisis.
He took actions that—in combination with many other factors—helped plunge Fannie and Freddie into the sub-prime markets without putting in place the means to monitor their increasingly risky investments. He turned the Federal Housing Administration mortgage program into a sweetheart lender with sky-high loan ceilings and no money down, and he legalized what a federal judge has branded “kickbacks” to brokers that have fueled the sale of overpriced and unsupportable loans.
Three to four million families are now facing foreclosure, and Cuomo is one of the reasons why. . . SOURCE http://www.villagevoice.com/2008-08-05/news/how-andrew-cuomo-gave-birth-to-the-crisis-at-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac/
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Feb 8, 2010
Editorial, The Wall St Journal
FR Posted February 08, 2010 by The Raven ...
HUD's Web visitors learn that in 1999 "Secretary Cuomo established new Affordable Housing Goals requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—two government sponsored enterprises involved in housing finance—to buy $2.4 trillion in mortgages in the next 10 years. This will mean new affordable housing for about 28.1 million low- and moderate-income families.
The historic action raised the required percentage of mortgage loans for low- and moderate-income families that the companies must buy from the current 42 percent of their total purchases to a new high of 50 percent—a 19 percent increase—in the year 2001." ... (Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
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REFERENCE Entitled, "Highlights of HUD Accomplishments 1997-1999," the document chronicles the "accomplishments under the leadership of Secretary Andrew Cuomo, who took office in January 1997."
HUD's Web visitors learn that in 1999: "Secretary Cuomo established new Affordable Housing Goals requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—two government sponsored enterprises involved in housing finance—to buy $2.4 trillion in mortgages in the next 10 years. This will mean new affordable housing for about 28.1 million low- and moderate-income families.
Cuomo's historic action raised the required percentage of mortgage loans for low- and moderate-income families that the companies must buy from the current 42% of their total purchases to a new high of 50%—-----a 19% increase—in the year 2001."
Based on this article, it gets you a lot farther than working hard and keeping your nose clean.
I lived in a place like that in CT. Had to live in the town for work. 3400 a month. I am sure by some people i saw in the common area that the state had some families stashed away there too.
Here in MA. we have 40B housing. In order to build in a town the builder has to allocate a certain number of units for low income. They are in the process of building an enormous development in my town which is very affluent. This is going to put a tremendous burden on the schools which are excellent.
We looked at one of these 40B developments a few years ago and were told that our price would be $500k but the unit next door, which was subsidized, was going for about $100k. The difference? One had granite and hardwoods and the other carpeting and laminates.
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