Is Housing a Right?

Hi again, I’m Dylan. I’m here to explore and understand the dynamics of housing insecurity and ways to improve what is becoming a systemic problem in our country and beyond in my blog Quest4Home.

I have been exploring ideas and concepts related to housing affordability issues after becoming more acquainted with those who suffer from housing insecurity as a part of their daily lives. I recently listened to an excellent podcast (the Weeds, May 17, 2019, “America’s two housing crises”), in which Jenny Schuetz discussed whether there is and should be a national right to housing and whether it should be an entitlement. Since politics are so entrenched in whether or not lower income-people are able to obtain housing, it seems imperative to look at whether it constitutes a “right” and “entitlement” in US policy. Schuetz said, “Families in the bottom 20% of the income distribution have a difficult time affording even minimal quality housing basically everywhere in the US.” At the core of this problem is whether they are, in fact, entitled to adequate housing.

The podcast noted that In America, food stamps are an entitlement.

But Section 8 housing vouchers are not. It’s a crazy distinction… the government can help you purchase some cereal, but is it unable to assist most with a place where you can eat it?

Entitlement programs are rule-based eligibility programs. These government programs guarantee certain benefits to a group of people based on eligibility requirements. So Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are entitlement programs, and everyone who meets the eligibility requirements, whether through age or income, is entitled to the subsidy or benefits. So I learned that with an entitlement program, the government commits to the costs and, therefore, must cover expenses regardless. However, for whatever reason, the US has chosen not to put housing as an entitlement program, which seems to be a severe policy failure.

So housing assistance is instead a non-entitlement program and works off of a fixed amount given to HUD, which, according to ends up only covering about 20% of those that are eligible. It usually works with a two-step process: do you qualify, and does your family meet the characteristics to be eligible? And if so, is there even funding available to help you? Usually, funding will be allocated through a regional government authority and will not go directly from HUD. As Scheutz pointed out, the local program usually has the discretion to prioritize who gets any funds. So, only 20% get a subsidy to cover housing costs, and the other 80% are left with housing insecurity. And here we are. The streets were flooded with tents and cardboard boxes, and families were standing in long lines for a place for the night.

Many people might think… well, I work hard to support my family and buy/rent a home, and why can’t everyone do that? And others might think we all have a right to an education in America, so why not a home? In some countries, laws are implemented to build more social housing or give more people financial housing assistance, but the US does not have a national right to housing, so it has not done this.

But to hop on the above idea that those who don’t work hard can’t have a home…a lot of the problem stems from affordability and income differences, not a lack of work ethic. We can’t really have a community where everyone achieves higher education and sits behind a desk with a large framed window on an elevated office floor or a plush home office in front of a computer. There are service providers that we all want and need in society for it to function and provide basic necessities, and as such, there should be some obligation to assist those who offer such services with the same ability to afford housing in a relatively close location to where they work. Let’s look at any major city location. Old buildings come down and new, more expensive high-rises go up. Those who live in the city want to have teachers, firefighters, waiters in restaurants, dry cleaners, police, and people who pick up your trash and drive your Uber. Still, we don’t pay these service providers sufficiently to afford the more costly homes and apartments in any of our major cities. In fact, with gentrification, some of the lower-income areas in many previously existing cities are being built up with more homes that are updated and become unaffordable to the previous community members.

So the first main problem is paying people too little to afford housing, and the second big issue is offering too few housing options for lower-income families in places with substantial job opportunities. And this is more than just a problem for the bottom 20%. This is a problem for many younger graduates and first-time job seekers. I mean, most of the larger cities have more job opportunities and productive companies, yet someone embarking on a new job in that city may still be unable to afford living quarters nearby.

Until next time…