In 1998 Congress passed what is now known as the Faircloth Amendment. It capped the number of public housing units that receive funding from the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) to 1999 levels. This means that the number of federally supported public housing units has stayed the same for 25 years. "Specifically, the amendment prohibits HUD from funding the construction or operation of new public housing with Capital or Operating Funds if the units would exceed the number of units the PHA owned, assisted, or operated as of October 1, 1999" (From linked document above).
As the entire country, especially the sunbelt states, are dealing with housing crises, it is clear the private housing sector is not meeting peoples' needs. From 2000 to 2020, the U.S. added more than 150 million people to its population. Because of this self-imposed limit, the amount of housing has stayed the same. I strongly believe we need to repeal this limit and invest in public housing, in addition to limits on second homes and short-term rentals that should be handled by local governments. I do not believe we need to socialize all housing, but it is undoubtedly a tool we need to bring back to get us through this crisis.
At my own institution in the 1960s, Flagstaff and NAU had a housing crisis (shocker) and the federal government stepped in to fund the construction of, in whole or in part, 15 dormitories in four years. This moved students onto campus and alleviated stressors on the general housing stock. 15 dormitories in four years - that is the type of rapid and effective action that only the federal government has the capacity to fund. The question is: are they willing?
Brendan Trachsel © Copyright 2024 
