Very few things that happen in Washington are legitimate functions of the federal government. I’ve already posted about the need to dismantle the Department of Transportation and send it back to the states, but some things shouldn’t even be handled by state and local governments. Housing is a perfect example. There should be no role for government in building or subsidizing housing, period.
But I’ll be happy if we can simply get rid of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington. This $53 billion turkey should be the top target for GOP reformers.
Fealty to the Constitution should be the only reason lawmakers need to abolish HUD, but if they’re looking for some tangible examples of how the Department squanders money, J.P. Freire of the Washington Examiner opines on the issue, citing some devastating findings in a report from the Center for Public Integrity.
In the more than 3,000 public housing agencies nationwide funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and particularly inside the 172 that HUD considers the most troubled, ABC News and the Center for Public Integrity found a struggle to combat theft, corruption, and mismanagement. According to the report, one official embezzled $900,000 and bought a mansion. Other funds went to support sex workers. In other words, this is a perfect illustration of why recommending cuts to such assistance programs is not heartless but actually wise — waste is rampant:
The problems are widespread, from an executive in New Orleans convicted of embezzling more than $900,000 in housing money around the time he bought a lavish Florida mansion to federal funds wrongly being spent to provide housing for sex offenders or to pay vouchers to residents long since dead. Despite red flags from its own internal watchdog, HUD has continued to plow fresh federal dollars into these troubled agencies, including $218 million in stimulus funds since 2009, the joint investigation found.
These are horrific examples of government waste, and they are tailor-made for soundbites and blog posts, but waste, fraud, and corruption are not the real issues. HUD should be abolished even if every penny of the budget could be accounted for. If Republicans can’t get rid of HUD, voters should get rid of Republicans.
I totally agree.
Uhhh no then my mother wont have a job anymore then i will be on the street u ppl dont think about that do you
And will you house the elderly, disabled and lowest-income, including the children, that you and the
republicans (purposely not caps) will make homeless by eliminating HUD?
Maybe you or the “tea baggers” can show us how a family can exist without public housing when they receive $600 a month and live in a wheel chair or are on Social Security and 87 years old.
I think not
Or maybe we can drop them in Japan or leave them on a mountain to die.
You all talk and want to get somewhere and you don’t even have a clue what the directions are.
Don’t really need nor care what your response.
[...] Department of Housing and Urban Development has always been near the top of my list of government entities that should be shut down. This latest scam is merely the cherry on the ice-cream sundae of the argument to eliminate HUD as [...]
[...] already explained why the Department of Housing and Urban Development should be eliminated, but a superb column in the Wall Street Journal by my old friend Jim Bovard has my blood [...]
[...] already explained why the Department of Housing and Urban Development should be eliminated, but a superb column in the Wall Street Journal by my old friend Jim Bovard has my blood [...]
[...] government intervention caused the housing crisis, which is why Republicans should be voting to shut down the Department of Housing and Urban Development and enacting legislation to get government out of the housing [...]
[...] are similar in that they are based on the idea that far-away bureaucracies (like this one) should have power over local communities. Rate this: Share [...]
It seems to me that the article was addressing fraud and keeping far-away bureaucracies out of our communities. Look at what is going on over seas, people protesting over lost of free stuff because the governments there have run out of money. These boondoggles by government need to stop. Taxpayers cannot support them anymore. The average person receiving government assistants gets more money then the average taxpayer makes. Something is wrong
Abolish HUD, and leave the problem of housing the elderly, handicapped and indigent to the States. Then, hold them accountable for where the funding goes. Sign my petition if you agree.
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-president-of-the-united-states-abolish-hud
[...] But that shouldn’t be the end of the discussion. The more important question is whether most federal bureaucrats should even have jobs. I’m mostly concerned about the fact that we have useless bureaucracies such as the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. [...]
I say Hold Housing and Urban Development and their Employees accountable for their actions or if Not ABOLISH Housing and Urban Development all together. Because there is so much waste, Intimidation, Harassment,Discrimination,Abuse,and Neglect. Housing and Urban Development Recieves Federal and State Funding and there is no reason Tenants are going without Heat, and Hot Water, Living in Filth, Roach and Rat Infestation,Black Mold, Asbestus, NO Safety and Security.and Work orders Closed and IGNORED or waiting weeks apon weeks before any action is taken to Fix the repairs. MOST the time the work orders are IGNORED and CLOSED without any Repairs or even checking in to the Repair.
[...] There are epidemic levels of waste, fraud, and abuse at HUD. [...]
[...] There are epidemic levels of waste, fraud, and abuse at HUD. [...]
[...] There are epidemic levels of waste, fraud, and abuse at HUD. [...]
[...] There are epidemic levels of waste, fraud, and abuse at HUD. [...]
[…] when I check that list, I don’t see anything about steroid investigations, housing, or disaster relief. Nor do I see anything about childhood […]
[…] when I check that list, I don’t see anything about steroid investigations,housing, or disaster relief. Nor do I see anything about childhood […]