RestonWeb

[Bob Bruhns]

I received this by e-mail from Dranesville Supervisor candidate Dennis Husch.
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PRESS RELEASE
29 June 2011

County’s Affordable Housing Policy Needs Overhaul

DRANESVILLE - I join with Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity and share his sentiment that “the role of government should be to give those in need a hand up, not provide them with a place to live that provides no incentive for advancement and is better than the housing and amenities of the majority of the taxpayers that are funding it.”

Nobody is calling for low-income citizens to live in squalor. But, like the minimum wage, subsidized housing is designed to be a foundation from which to start. The residents need to learn how to own a home, pay for it, care for it and then when it can be afforded, move up and into a more desirable home.

Government should not be in the real estate business. While the county provides such largesse to those who would ordinarily not be able to afford them, we the taxpaying people are paying for these luxury condos replete with amenities such as billiards rooms, swimming pools with heated spas and indoor basketball courts.

But when income of close to $75,000 qualifies for homes that would be worth nearly $850,000 on the open market, and the county caps sales at $150,000, it is high time for Fairfax County’s affordable and subsidized housing policies to go under both the microscope and the knife.

If the county would do away with the amenities and call for less luxurious homes, more people of genuine need could be served. It is imperative to remember the call from the late HUD Secretary Jack Kemp who firmly believed in home ownership provided it was affordable for the low-income owner to be personally responsible for its care and upkeep.

Dennis Husch
dh4ds@dhusch.com
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Government debt and deficits are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[stix]

[Tanten]

This is really news to me.

Like stix, I'd be interested to get
som specific examples, so I can see for myself.