Comment on William G. Grigsby and Steven C. Bourassa's “Section 8: The time for fundamental program change?”

Abstract

Grigsby and Bourassa suggest that the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program is no longer needed in its current form and that it should become an entitlement program for low-income families and be integrated with other federal safety-net programs. We disagree. We believe that the reform Grigsby and Bourassa propose fails to appreciate the program's purpose, effectiveness, and importance in providing decent and affordable housing for low-income families.While we agree that the program needs to be changed, we also believe that the fundamental elements that address housing policy goals should be preserved. Rather than merge the program into the existing network of income support programs and eliminate its major housing components, we argue that its eligibility requirements and rent structure should be simplified and that it should return to a true budget-based funding system.