US Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Cabinet Secretary Alphonso Jackson has resigned under the cloud of allegations that he steered lucrative contracts to friends. I am reminded in the scene from Casablanca, where the Claude Rains character declares that he is shocked to discover that gambling is going on at Rick’s Cafe Americain. If true, why this should suprise anyone is puzzling.
Government housing agencies all over the world have been embroiled in scandal, not just the HUD under Republicans as the liberal mythology enshrined in the New York Times editorial "Put The Housing Back In HUD" (NYT April 1, 2008 www.nytimes.com) . I quote "HUD as a long history of mismanagement and corruption, which has been particularly pronounced in Republican administrations. That is most likely because with rare exceptions, like former HUD Secretary Jack Kemp, Republicans do not seem to believe in the agency’s mission. "
Their editorial must be an April Fools’ Day joke. If Republicans would believe their own rhetoric and implement it, we would abolish this agency which is unauthorized by the US Constitution, which consists of enumerated powers.
Housing agencies are constructing public housing, lending or guaranteeing loans to builders and running public housing. All of these offer manifold opportunities for graft and political favoritism. Therefore scandals are no suprise.
Housing in the United States is interfered with at all levels. Municipal, county and state governments use eminent domain, rent controls and zoning to interfere with housing markets. The Federal government interferes with its control of the money supply by the Federal Reserve Board. Its easy credit policy since at least 9/11/01 fostered the climate in which the subprime mortgage could flourish which seems to have missed the notice of the New York Times (a beneficiary of eminent domain abuse that I dubbed Time$cam). Inflation and the money supply do not get mentioned in discussions of the subprime mortgage debacle. The Federal government has further interefered with grants, loans and loan guarantees.
On Long Island we have a situation where housing has become so unaffordable because of zoning and taxation as to drive away the young people that were educated at great expense in the government school system. (For an interesting examination of Long Island’s housing situation, take a look at my friend Clifford Sondock’s Land Use Institute website, landuseinstitute.com).
Let us separate housing and state at all levels. Let us separate money and state. Let us end eminent domain abuse. Money and housing are too important to be left to politicians and bureaucrats. -30-
(About the author, Richard Cooper is the export/import manager for a Long Island manufacturing firm. He was a Ron Paul delegate in the NY primary. As former Chair of the Libertarian Party of New York www.ny.lp.org and member of the national Libertarian Party www.lp.org he has fought for property rights and against eminent domain abuse).
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