A noble idea, right? It’s America, the land of plenty, making sure that poor people have a place to live. But a year-long investigation by the Washington Post has found that the HUD housing program has wasted hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Post reported earlier this month that nearly 700 projects awarded $400 million have stagnated. “Some have languished for a decade or longer even as much of the country struggles with record-high foreclosures and a dramatic loss of affordable housing,” according the paper.
The problem is that the government has delivered billions of dollars to hundreds of projects with very few rules or safeguards. As a result, money has disappeared and sites of planned housing projects are now vacant lots or half-completed structures.
And HUD has let it happen.
According to the Post, “HUD has known about the problems for years, but still imposes few requirements on local housing agencies.” A key issue here is that grants are awarded to contractors and non-profits that may have very little experience in actually building homes.
“Overall, nearly one in seven projects shows signs of significant delay,” the Post said. “Time and time again, housing agencies failed to cancel bad deals or alert HUD when the projects foundered.”
So, where did all the money go?
No one seems to know. HUD doesn’t do much to track the progress of the projects after the checks are cut. The Post analysis found that in hundreds of cases the projects have drawn all the money from the government, but HUD still lists them as incomplete.
And remarkably, when a housing deal does fall through, HUD does not have the authority to make the local agency that received the grant pay it back. In fact, the emphasis is on spending the money, not making sure the work is done.
“The agency can reduce grants to housing agencies if HUD funding is not spent quickly enough, which creates pressure to move the money out, but does not ensure that construction is completed,” the Post reported.
So, the outcome doesn’t matter; just make sure the money is spent.
America is facing perhaps its most serious budget problems. The debt is over $14 trillion and growing by the second. We have taken a long and expensive road that has often been paved with good intentions.
Here’s another good example. The attempt by the federal government to provide homes for poor people has resulted, according to the Washington Post, in “a trail of failed developments in every corner of the country.”
“Fields where apartment complexes were promised are empty and neglected. Houses that were supposed to be renovated are boarded up and crumbling, eyesores in decaying neighborhoods.”
Home ownership, or at the least a place to call your own, is the American Dream, but this is more like a nightmare.
Source http://www.wvmetronews.com/
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