We don't need more large-scale affordable housing in Worcester

This was a great Op Ed by Ray Mariano in Sunday't Telegram.  Since it is hard to link if you are not a subscriber here is a PDF link below.

https://drive.google.com/file/...

We all know that we need to address housing in the City of Worcester.  That is scarcity of housing overall, and a lack of "affordable housing".  That is housing for the most vulnerable(poor and elderly among others) along with housing for those who's wages have not kept up with the cost of housing.

Mayor Mariano uses a story from his childhood which puts the issue of large scale public housing "projects" in the spotlight.  There is a stigma that is often applied to those who live in these places.

This is definitely worth the read.

I can remember picking my son's teammates up at Plumley Village and Upland Gardens for practices and games and they would be waiting outside for a ride.  When they became his close friends he would hop out of the car to get them from their apartments.  It took a lot for them to allow their "rich suburban" friend to see their lives and to eventually sleep over at their homes. 

One of the issues brought up in this article is that those in large public housing "projects" are segregated from the rest of the city.  If you live GBV it is pretty hard to walk to your Burncoat High School Classmates home on Davidson Road  or Colby Ave, and build lasting friendships.  There is very little housing other than Plumley Village that is walkable from Plumley either.  Lakeside is a little better, but still not really part of a neighborhood.

Luckily my son was able to bridge that gap of geography and make some wonderful lifetime friends through sports, irregardless of their addresses.

It is much easier to make these friendships across socio-economic lines when you are renting the 1st floor of a 3 decker on the same street with a section 8 voucher then having to rely on adults to drive you to Sutton, or into Worcester to hang out with your friends.

I believe that there is a need for Section 8 Vouchers.

For those who do not follow my Blog regularly, keep in mind that I am a "Free Market, Chicago School Economist" 

That may seem antithetical to my economic views but it is not.  Our economic system is not true free market, it is stacked against many who need opportunities to succeed.  If the market was a free market, I do believe that it would be able to allocate resources appropriately.

Section 8 vouchers allow for a housing subsidy for those who have demonstrated need.  Perhaps they chose the wrong career that does not pay enough.  Perhaps they have fallen on hard times. There are various means tests which are used to allocate these vouchers.  The issue is that there are not enough of these vouchers and there are many more who could really use a little help.

As with any program there are "unintended consequences" The pricing of HUD Fair Market Rents works to drive up rents overall.  However, if we are able to increase the number of available rental units, these HUD FMR will go down.

This should not be a NIMBY issue either.  Having a neighbor who doesn't make as much money as you is not COVID, you cannot catch it.  If you happen to make more money than your neighbor they are not going to ask you to buy them things.  Surprisingly you might realize that they are just like you, they are out there shoveling out their cars when it snows, and care a great deal about their children.  These things cross over class and racial lines.

Let's work to both increase the number of housing units, along with the number of Section 8 vouchers available.