Essay Recommends Making Work Pay

The Urban Institute released a series of essays in July which explore ways in which safety net programs can be improved to provide economic benefits to low income families. In an essay entitled Making Work Pay Enough: A Decent Standard of Living for Working Families, Gregory Acs and Margery Austin Turner conclude public programs, as currently constructed, fail to “make work pay”. They offer three recommendations which they believe will increase the income of these families and create greater opportunities for families to move up society’s economic ladder.

First, they believe making changes to the earned income tax credit (EITC) and the federal child care tax credit will increase the purchasing power of a low-income family. Second, they call for the creation of a refundable tax credit for families who rent or own a home yet receive no federal housing subsidies to help boost their purchasing power for housing. Finally, they call for an expansion of affordable housing in areas where the need is greatest.

Jared Bernstein of the Economic Policy Institute and John C. Weicher of the Hudson Institute offer critiques to this essay.

Questions and Answers with G. Thomas Kingsley of The Urban Institute.

As part of its 40th anniversary celebration, The Urban Institute has interviewed many of its research experts on a variety of relevant urban-related topics. In this interview posted in July Kingsley answers questions about the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Interesting Reads in Housing and Community Development

The credit crunch one year on
Mission creep at the Fed
The Economist

Frustration and Optimism in New Orleans
3 Years After Katrina, Poll Finds Anger Over Slow Recovery but Hope for Future
By Jon Cohen, Washington Post Staff Writer

As Program Moves Poor to Suburbs, Tensions Follow
By Solomon Moore, New York Times

Foreclosure Crisis Catching Renters Off Guard
By Dina ElBoghdady, Washington Post Staff Writer

Angelo's Many "Friends"
by Dan Golden August 2008 Issue
Conde Nast Portfolio

Housing Collapse Ahead?
Not According to the Data
By Charles W. Calomiris, Stanley D. Longhofer and William Miles
The Washington Post

Sizing Up a Mega-City
The Olympics Will Draw the World's Eyes to China. In Shanghai, There's Almost Too Much to Take In.
By Philip Kennicott
Washington Post Staff Writer

Interesting Reads in Campaign 2008

Is Obama the End of Black Politics?
By Matt Bai, New York Times

Clinton told to portray Obama as foreign
By Mike Allen, The Politico

Obama Leads, Pessimism Reigns Among Key Group
By Michael D. Shear and Jon Cohen
Washington Post Staff Writers

Southern Discomfort: A journey through a troubled region.
By Christopher Dickey, NEWSWEEK

The Race Issue Isn't Going Away
By Juan Williams, The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121781107977608809.html?mod=opinion_main_commentaries

Obama's Racial Catch-22
For Barack Obama, countering racist attacks means acknowledging that racism is alive and well -- which poses a threat to his hope-based campaign.
By Adam Serwer, The American Prospect

Read more »

Race Becomes Front and Center in Presidential Race

Race has injected itself directly into the chase for the White House when Rick Davis, campaign manager for John McCain accused Barack Obama of playing the race card. Aviewfromdc is happy this issue is finally front and center.

Make no mistake race is an underlying issue in this campaign. The final results will give us a strong indication of our accomplishments in race relations. Whether any one wants to admit it or not, the close polling numbers reflect misgivings many have about Obama’s ability to lead the country and race is at the center of it. Obama is correct. He does not look like other presidential candidates voters are accustomed to seeing. There is a natural uncertainty within voter’s minds because of it some sincere and some not so sincere. Instead of trying to deflect it we should be discussing it with as little rancor as possible.

I believe there are a significant number of voters, who happen to be white, with legitimate apprehensions about the hope Obama presents. I believe they are open to voting for him if he can convince them he can adequately address their concerns about the economy, security, etc. For these individuals, if they do not vote for him it is because they believe McCain is the better option.

But let’s not be naïve. There are voters who under no circumstances will vote anyone other than a white man into the White House. If necessary, they will vote a white woman into office before they will vote for a black man. I also believe there are voters with the “Guess Who is Coming to Dinner” reaction. It is okay for blacks to pursue equal rights but getting elected president is a bit too much in their view. If the comments attributed to leaders of white supremacist groups are true, these individuals are joining those groups in the hope to “take back” America.

The commercials sponsored by the McCain campaign and his supporters are toying with racism as they question Obama’s patriotism by saying he would rather win an election than win a war, by highlighting how different he is, by associating him with Paris Hilton and Brittany Spears and referring to his confidence as arrogance. This follows a New York Magazine cover which played on racial fears depicting Obama in Muslim garb, his wife in an Angela Davis pose and the American flag burning in the fire place.

McCain presents himself as a man of high character except when he is out to win an election then anything goes. He says he does not want race to be a part of the campaign but his handlers will tickle the fibers of racial doubt just enough to illicit fears from the white electorate but not enough to be charged with racism. The charges are deftly made.

First, Obama is charged with inexperience. Yes, he does not have the extensive resume of John McCain. But like McCain, Obama has met the basic criteria to be president. He was born in the United States and he is at least 35 years of age. The question before the electorate is: does he have the leadership we are seeking in our next President? To question his experience is disingenuous. Every year a president is elected, with a few exceptions, we are electing some one who is inexperienced. I don’t care how much expertise a person has in any area nothing prepares you for the responsibilities of the presidency. Unless you are a sitting president getting reelected it is an on-the-job training position. It is similar to parenting. You can have all the training the world has to offer on childhood development but nothing compares to actually having a kid 24-7. So who is John McCain kidding? What exactly has he done which compares to the responsibilities of the president? Because he is older than Obama he certainly has life experiences he can draw from, including his military experience, but that doesn’t mean he will be a good president. General Wesley Clark raised this issue and was skewered. The truth is if McCain is elected, we will be taking as much of a chance on him as we will with Obama.

I genuinely respect and admire John McCain but he is painting himself as the modern version of John Wayne the great American savior. Barack Obama is being painted as a dissident individual who only cares about himself and not his country. This is appalling. Barack Obama has done nothing but express respect, appreciation, admiration and love for his country. But to the John McCain’s of the world, it is not good enough. This is a sensitive point for me. It has always upset me when an individual who is white questions my patriotism or the patriotism of other non-whites. People of color have gone out of their way to fight and die for this country in the hope they would be considered equal to whites. But I wonder if John McCain will question the patriotism of Italian-Americans this October when they unfurl the Italian flag on Columbus Day. I also wonder if he has ever questioned the patriotism of Irish-Americans when they display the Irish flag on St. Patrick’s Day. I don’t think so but to win an election he will tickle the senses of white America by saying this Black man with a Muslim name doesn’t love his country nearly as much as the war hero John McCain.

Do I believe John McCain himself is racist, no! But let’s not be fooled: John McCain is not the saint he is painting himself to be. Barack Obama loves his country as much as McCain does. And McCain is just as ambitious, selfish and self-serving as he claims Obama to be.

Candidate’s Tax Policy Will Impact Funding for Housing and Community Development Funding

Each candidate has an array of policy initiatives he wishes to fund if elected. Of the two candidates, Barack Obama has a more detailed response to local housing and community development initiatives he would like to pursue. (In previous postings aviewfromdc has summarized the initiatives of each candidate). However, each candidate must fund these initiatives which will be a daunting task given the current economic climate. Driving the funding of these initiatives will be the revenue generated by each candidate’s tax policies and how they decide to allocate those funds. While it is unclear how much money each candidate will make available for public housing, housing vouchers, community development, homelessness and other initiatives, advocates for these programs should learn the tax proposals of each candidate.

The Tax Policy Center has a useful side-by-side of each candidate’s proposals. It also contains a handy tax guide to help the reader understand tax policy and how it affects you. In the coming weeks, aviewfromdc will provide you with more detailed information on how the candidate’s tax policies will affect housing and community development programs.

Q&A with Robertson Williams, Tax Policy Center

In the interim, aviewfromdc has added a little twist to the Q&A section of the blog. This is a link to questions answered by Robertson Williams, one of the authors of the Tax Policy Center’s Tax Guide. He is currently a Principal Research Associate at the Urban Institute. Williams was at the Congressional Budget Office from 1984 through 2006, most recently as deputy assistant director for tax analysis, and before that an assistant professor of economics at Williams College. He has written numerous papers on tax policy, income distribution, and social welfare programs.

Interesting Reads

The number of interesting reads is longer than in previous postings and focuses mostly on the presidential election.

Hovering Above Poverty, Grasping for Middle Class
By Michael A. Fletcher and Jon Cohen, the Washington Post Staff Writers

Dollar Bills and Paris Hilton
Both presidential candidates are capable of better.
The Washington Post

McCain's Problem Isn't His Tactics. It's GOP Ideas.
By Greg Anrig, the Washington Post

It Really Isn’t Hard to Figure out Why
By Jennifer Rubin, Commentary Magazine

Right strategy, wrong candidate? Even a good strategy has to match the candidate
By Chuck Todd, Political Director, NBC News

Barack Obama's Lost Years
The senator's tenure as a state legislator reveals him to be an old-fashioned, big government, race-conscious liberal.
By Stanley Kurtz, The Weekly Standard

Can Obama Stay Above the Fray?
If he won't refute McCain's attacks, does he look stronger or weaker?
By Eleanor Clift, Newsweek

The Curious Mind of John McCain
Ambition and Emotion Color the Complex Intellect of the Candidate
By Robert G. Kaiser, Washington Post Staff Writer

The Low-Road Warrior
Mudslinging will damage McCain’s brand—but it may be the only way he can win.
By John Heilemann, New York Magazine

When Voters Lie
It's a given that people fib in surveys, and this election season is especially tricky with race looming as an issue. How pollsters are trying to uncover the truth.
By Ellen Gamerman, Wall Street Journal

In Senate, GOP Braces For Cold November
Republicans are in such perilous shape heading toward Election Day that they argue a four-seat loss would count as a "moral victory."
By Jennifer E. Duffy, National Journal Magazine

On the attack
Will John McCain’s negative blitz on Barack Obama do him any good?
From Economist.com

Race Proves to Be Unwelcome but Persistent Issue
By Juliet Eilperin and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers

Democrats anxious for Obama to widen lead
By Edward Luce, Financial Times

Read more »

2008 Election: State Polls Matter Most

In August the Democratic and Republican parties will hold their conventions to formally confirm Senators Barack Obama and John McCain as their respective presidential nominees. Each candidate will also have formally announced his running mate in the hopes it will create excitement among their supporters and a “bounce” in the polls as the final push to the White House begins. Many national polls will be taken offering snap shots of which candidate is leading at that moment in time. However it is our advice to readers of aviewfromdc to be cautious in placing too much emphasis on the national polls.

Observers should focus their attention on state polls to get a true gauge of the race’s final result. For months national polls indicated Hillary Clinton would win the Democratic nomination. Her campaign continually pointed to these opinion polls to indicate she was the strongest candidate to win the presidency for the Democrats. However, state polls offered a different assessment and ultimately her campaigned failed for a number of reasons, one of which was the failure to pay close attention to state polls.

To help guide you through the election season we listed some resources which offer some of the best information to track the presidential election.

1. Wikipedia has a great summary of the presidential election; it summarizes the candidates from all of the political parties and leads to excellent information about national and state polling. It also provides an interesting summary of the battleground states as well. A little known movement is described which could impact future elections. It is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. This compact calls for states to award its electoral votes to the candidate who wins the popular vote in that state.

2. Realclearpolitics is a great web site for all things election including a daily listing of some of the best articles and editorials on the election.

3. The University of Virginia’s Center for Politics includes Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball which features analyses of presidential races, Senate, House and gubernatorial races.

McCain Housing Position

The web site www.VoteGopher.com contains information concerning John McCain’s housing position. According to the site, McCain supports the creation of a Federal Housing Authority "HOME" Plan, which would make it easier for low-income Americans to secure affordable loans in place of the "burdensome mortgages" that cause them financial strain. He has also promised to create a Mortgage Abuse Task Force through the Justice Department, which would investigate criminal activity in the mortgage industry and assist state Attorneys General in uncovering and punishing abusive lending practices.

He also supports a plan to let homeowners struggling to pay adjustable rate sub prime mortgages switch to a 30-year fixed rate mortgage backed by the government. People will be eligible for this plan if they bought a sub prime mortgage after 2005 for their primary residence while they were creditworthy, but cannot pay the mortgage now. If homeowners with the government-backed mortgage see their houses appreciate in value and sell them, they keep a third of the profit and the other two-thirds are split between lenders and the federal government. McCain has also called for the creation of a "Mortgage Abuse Task Force" to investigate the industry.

Potential Senate VP Candidate's positions on housing and community development programs

Aviewfromdc has reviewed the voting record of various senators under consideration for the position of vice president. The voting record was compiled by the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) Included are the voting records of John McCain and Barack Obama. There is a guide which explains each legislation voted on by each member.

Of the Democratic senators mentioned as potential vice presidential candidates: Jack Reed (RI), Hillary Clinton (NY), Joe Biden (Del), Evan Bayh (IN) and Chris Dodd (CT) each voted on all the positions recommended by NAHRO when they were present to vote. Independent Joseph Lieberman (CT) also had a perfect record. Lieberman is mentioned as a possible candidate for John McCain. Republican Chuck Hagel (NE), considered a long shot to be selected by Obama as his running mate, voted for two appropriations bill consistent with the NAHRO position out of the nine listed. Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison voted for three measures along the lines recommended by NAHRO.

Interesting reads

Housing Bill Won't 'Perform Miracles'
Senate Approves Measure, but Critics Say Law Unlikely to Prevent Most Foreclosures
By Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane, Washington Post Staff Writers

Hill Budget Chief Weighs Odds, Cost Of Rescue Plan, Fannie, Freddie Could Need $100 Billion or Not a Cent by Lori Montgomery and David S. Hilzenrath, Washington Post Staff Writers

The Fannie and Freddie Follies Spare the rod, spoil the child by Lawrence B. Lindsey

No sign yet of a bottom in home prices; Rising foreclosures, big new-home inventory push recovery into next year. Analysis by John W. Schoen, Senior Producer, MSNBC

To Fight Poverty, Tear Down HUD by Sudhir Venkatesh

McCain Makes Significant Gains in Four Key Battleground States
Majority of Voters in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin Favor Keeping Troops in Iraq, According to Quinnipiac-washingtonpost.com-Wall Street Journal Survey
By Chris Cillizza, washingtonpost.com staff writer

Could an Obama presidency hurt black Americans? By John Blake, CNN

Read more »

Philadelphia Housing Authority Receives Second Highest S&P Grade

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) was issued an “AA-“rating (ICR) from Standard and Poor’s (S&P) Rating Services due to its strong overall management and strategic plan. This is the second highest rating issued by S&P and the highest rating issued to date to a housing authority. Ratings in the “AA” category are considered high investment grades. This means PHA is considered an attractive option for investors.

“Standard and Poor’s believes the Philadelphia Housing Authority’s management has the wherewithal to balance new development and rehabilitation prudently and in a manner that makes the most use of its limited resources to improve it overall housing stock,” said Valerie White a credit analyst with S&P.

S&P’s ICR is an opinion of the overall financial capacity of an entity to meet its financial obligations. The rating sends a signal to investors of the overall creditworthiness of an entity as an investment partner. In rating housing agencies S&P relies on an overall credit analysis which takes into context the various business types in the public housing sector. Other factors in the rating including the overall history of the public housing industry, the level of government support for public housing, the earnings and financial strength of individual agency, the experience and past performance of the agency and comparison to other agencies based on size, market and business profile.

PHA is the fourth largest agency in the country with 15,000 units in 76 developments including traditional public housing, low income housing tax credit units and scattered site until It also administers more than 16,000 housing choice vouchers. Overall, PHA serves more than 84,000 residents throughout Philadelphia.

In addition to containing a strong overall management structure and strategic plan which supported its mission, the S&P rating found strong demand for PHA services as evidenced by a waiting list of more than 50,000 individuals; a strong development arm which maximizes external resources in developing mixed-finance projects; and additional financial and income support from these mixed income and mixed use sites.

S&P did recognize the trend in reduced federal funding for capital needs and operating subsidies. S&P found that the long-term capital plan needs could require significant resources which could reduce its net working capital and weaken its overall profitability ratios.

Q&A with Valerie D. White, Standard and Poor’s

Valerie D. White is a director in the tax-exempt housing and structured group of Standard & Poor’s Corporate & Government Ratings Division. As the sector leader for public housing ratings, Valerie's role includes the development of ratings criteria for PHA capacity evaluations, credit assessments, securitized capital fund transactions, and issuer credit ratings. Valerie also works on ratings for international social housing providers. In addition to the PHA transactions, Valerie rates issues in the affordable housing program, rates debt for selected large-scale state, local and municipal structured finance transactions, and is the primary analyst for a number of state housing finance agencies.

Valerie came to Standard & Poor’s after more than eight years at the New York City Housing Authority, where she served as chief of the Statistics Department, executive policy assistant for the Board of Commissioners and General Manager, and deputy director for Asset Management and Private Market Operations. Valerie holds both a B.A. in Communications and a J.D. from Fordham University. She is the author of the published note, Modifying the Escalera Consent Decree: A Case Study on the Application of the Rufo Test, 23 Fordham Urb. L.J. 377 (1996); which was cited in Escalera v. New York City Hous. Auth., 924 F. Supp. 1323 (S.D.N.Y. 1996). During her law school tenure, Valerie served as Managing Editor of the Fordham Urban Law Journal. She also holds an M.S. and a Certificate in Organization Development from New School University. In 2007, Valerie was named on the 25 Influential Black Women in Business list for The Network Journal magazine.

1. Why did Standard and Poor’s decide to issue credit ratings for housing agencies serving low-income households?

Standard & Poor's has been rating bonds issued by housing authorities since the early 1990s. Back then, the transactions were primarily affordable real estate transactions that provided additional non-public housing options. Many of these ratings were in markets, like the Pacific Northwest, where there was available land for new construction development for affordable housing. In some cases, housing authorities were able to take advantage of the low income housing tax credit (LIHTC) subsidy program which was in its early years at the time. Some were even part of multi-layered HOPE VI development projects. This era seemed to be the early stages of housing authorities finding alternative business means to meet the growing demands of the markets they served.

The 1998 Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 provided housing authorities with the authorization to use appropriated funds to back debt issuances. We rated our first Capital Fund Financing Program Bond (CFFP) for the Chicago Housing Authority in 2001. As part of developing the criteria for rating these bonds, we determined that public housing is a low business risk entity with an extremely strong essentiality evidenced by the high level of demand that exceeds the supply in this segment of the housing market. We were also comfortable with the long-standing government support for public housing in the form of subsidy through annual Congressional appropriations. We were able to identify trends of appropriation levels and apply certain stresses based on the recent and current funding environments to get comfortable with rating appropriated back date. Since our first CFFP rating, we have completed almost 30 public ratings for capital fund-backed bonds, including several pool transactions like the Maryland PHA pool issued by the state housing finance agency, and the Puerto Rico Public Housing Administration transaction--for which we just rated its second issuance, a subordinate tranche, a few weeks ago. We have also completed well over 100 CFFP confidential credit assessments for private loan programs for such lenders as Fannie Mae and Bank of America.

Our work rating housing authority issues over the years lead us to believe that housing authorities were strong entities that could qualify for investment grade Issuer Credit Ratings (ICR). We published criteria in November of 2007 outlining our ratings approach for public housing authority ICRs. I am pleased to say we released our first ICR for the Philadelphia Housing Authority ("AA-") earlier this month.

2. In rating housing agencies, what are common characteristics of agencies receiving high ratings from S&P?

Creativity and aggressive business strategies coupled with prudent financial management and planning seem to be a common thread among the housing authorities that have either transactional ratings or an ICR. One of the key strengths in the Philadelphia ICR rating was the agency's strong management and the creative business strategies. The authority demonstrates the ability to plan for the current funding environment and employ alternative strategies to meet demands. This includes attracting LIHTC investment and other subsidies for community redevelopment and the establishment of non-profit subsidiaries to provide the means to carry out development plans. In addition, Philadelphia has established a long-standing and successful partnership with its state housing finance agency--which is the allocating LIHTC entity and has also served as conduit bond issuer on a number of the authority's mixed-finance projects. We have worked with a number of authorities in the West for which we have rated their transactional bond issues--including the San Diego Housing Commission, the Vancouver Housing Authority and the King County Housing Authority. These authorities have issued property-specific bonds to fund the costs of developing affordable housing to create mixed-income communities that help support additional low-income housing in their respective markets.

For the CFFP ratings, those are primarily structured transactions that rely on the appropriations trends coupled with legal protections to the bond holder in the form of certain HUD approval and legal obligations under the bonds documents. However, the past performance of the authority does come into play. Authorities that have a track record of completing modernization projects timely demonstrate one of the elements that are considered a key strength in the rating.

3. How does an S&P’s favorable rating enhance a housing agency’s portfolio in the eyes of an investor?

Standard & Poor's assigns ratings to public housing authorities or to a particular bond transaction and publishes rating reports based upon S&P published criteria. The rating reflects Standard & Poor's independent opinion of the creditworthiness of the issuer or the bonds. Many investors use our rating reports as one source of information to make investment decisions.

4. Public housing authorities have battled the Federal government over the last several years for increased funding to operate its programs. Based on your experience, how much funding must the Federal government provide to housing authorities to calm any concerns expressed by investors?

At present, Standard & Poor's still believes public housing capital fund financing program transactions are strong--however--continued declines in overall Capital Fund appropriations could have a long term impact on the credit quality of bonds in that sector. Creditworthiness for CFFP bonds is not solely a function of the amount of federal funding, but also takes into account the housing authority management performance, as well as the parameters of the HUD approvals and the legal structure of the transaction.
For PHA ICRs, it is likely that housing authorities who rely a great deal on federal subsidies may experience declines in margins as federal subsidies continue to decrease. This trend could be problematic to authorities in analyzing their earnings capacity if there are no additional income streams to supplement the overall revenue of the authority. Authorities that find other earning streams to supplement their income in the face of shrinking subsidies provide a more diverse and stronger financial business model for investor to consider.

5. There are some in the industry who believe housing agencies need to reassess how they are structured and function in order to continue to meet the needs of low income households. What are some of the tools housing agencies should use to help plan for the future?

Successful housing authorities have engaged creative business strategies that are more akin to operating as a real estate owner and operator. This concept includes finding means to augment federal subsidies through developing business opportunities that can provide other income streams including but not limited to developer opportunities, property management functions and asset assessment and sales for other-than-public housing in their communities. Like any business, identifying contingency strategies to counteract revenue declines in the federal subsidy income stream can be an avenue for housing authorities to maintain an effective level of service to the low-income and affordable housing markets in their communities.

Mortgage Crisis Briefing

The National Low Income Housing Coalition will hold a congressional staff briefing on July 23 to review its policy recommendations to help low income families impacted by the mortgage crisis. NLIHC is expected to ask for a one-time supplemental appropriation of a $300 million increase for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program.


2008 Campaign

Periodically aviewfromdc seeks to provide information about individuals under consideration for the position of vice president. In this posting we look at Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.

Currently Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell (D) and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge (R) are considered candidates for the position of vice president for their respective parties. Concerning their support for housing and community development, they are both considered to be supportive of the issues related to housing and community development but have very different approaches to address these issues. Of the two Rendell is considered the one whose star shines brightest.

Under Rendell finding for housing and community development has increased when compared to Ridge’s tenure. There has been more money pumped into improving the development of downtown areas in local communities. Rendell supported smart growth initiatives believing that if you build the core (downtown) you create more effective policies for the surrounding area.

Ridge had an interest and seemed to support housing and community development but took a different approach. He worked to create new initiatives like improving downtown through financial incentives and new technology but not at the same level of dollar support to match. He created a community development bank which was to be funded by private sector dollars versus all public dollars but it never materialized because no funding became available. His support was also not reflective in the budget most program funding levels either stayed stagnant or received cuts. Ridge also enjoyed a Republican legislature while he was in office while Rendell must contend with a bipartisan legislature.

Interesting reads

McCain’s Hillary Problem by John Heilemann

Making It, How Chicago shaped Obama by Ryan Lizza

Flip-Flop Flap by Hendrik Hertzberg

Housing Advocates Have Opportunities to Weigh in on Political Party Platforms

Bank losses not as bad as Street had feared, Midyear corporate results offer some hope, but housing weighs on economy, an analysis by John W. Schoen, Senior Producer, MSNBC

Read more »

End of an Era for NNC

An end of era occurred in Washington, DC July 8th when the National Neighborhood Coalition (NNC) closed its door after nearly 30 years of advocating for low income neighborhoods. In announcing its closure the organization released its final report, What’s Happening to the Neighborhood. The report reveals a series of “snapshots” on selected issues such as affordable housing, community development, community organizing and organizations, and neighborhood data and planning.

The National Neighborhood Coalition was founded in 1979 to provide a national voice for lower-income neighborhoods. Its mission was to promote socially and economically vibrant neighborhoods and strong and effective partnerships between community-based organizations and the public and private sector. NNC provided common ground for the nation’s leading advocates for lower-income neighborhoods. It created a role as a convener where disparate national and local leaders came together to discuss issues, generate the resources, public policies and solution-oriented strategies to strengthen and sustain low-income neighborhoods.

NNC was deeply involved in the creation of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), and in the creation of a smart growth tool kit. As a result of NNC’s efforts groups such as the Coalition on Human Needs and the Campaign for Housing and Community Development Funding grew as a result of NNC’s efforts. In its prime, NNC was a great networking resource for new Washington arrivals and seasoned veterans alike. As technology improved and issues and funding for those issues became more defined, NNC’s role as a convener diminished. While the decision to shut down NNC was difficult, its board felt it was time to close its doors.

Its final report seeks to bring awareness to the conditions in neighborhoods and the efforts underway to improve them, according to the NNC Vice Chairs Jane DeMarines, Executive Director of National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations; Conrad Egan, President and CEO of the National Housing Conference; and, Lisa Hasegawa, Executive Director of the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development.

Edited by Mark Rom, Associate Professor at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, the report is not intended to be exhaustive or definitive, according to a statement released by the vice-chairs. According to the vice-chairs, it is written by experienced activists, leaders and scholars, and all chapters offer suggestions for improving neighborhoods through policy and programmatic innovations.

Q&A with Thomas Shellabarger, Co-Chair of the National Neighborhood Coalition

Thomas Shellabarger is a Policy Advisor on Urban and Economic Issues for the United States Conference on Catholic Bishops. He monitors issues related to housing, homelessness, community development, civil rights, employment, and the federal budget. The major legislation involved in these issues are the federal budget process, housing authorization and appropriations, labor and employment, and minimum wage. He was the immediate past co-chair of the National Neighborhood Coalition.

1. How has the National Neighborhood Coalition contributed to the debate in Washington about the need to improve low income neighborhoods?

Covering 30 years of contributions, I’m afraid some will be overlooked! We were deeply involved in the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) which really opened up information to neighborhoods about their access to money and other financial services. More recently, we were involved in getting neighborhoods into the conversations about ‘Smart Growth’. Getting people together who work on issues or public policy that affect people in local communities, local neighbors, just generates a lot of good ideas!

2. How would you describe the conditions of neighborhoods today compared to when NNC first opened its doors?

The current foreclosure debacle is having a devastating effect on many low-income communities. They were actually targeted with sub prime loans and mislead, in some cases fraudulently, about the terms and conditions of these contracts. But in the larger picture there is a lot more organizing, a lot more money, and a lot more attention being paid to our neighborhoods.

3. What are the challenges neighborhoods need to overcome in order to be viable entities for the people who live within their environs?

Organize, organize, and organize. Without organization, people are alone, without resources, information, or power. Together, we may not win everywhere or every time, but we can chip away and bring about change.

4. What is the significance of the report recently released by NNC?

I think it demonstrates that there are a multitude of ways to form community and we can learn from every effort of people getting together to overcome the challenges unique to each community. We can actually measure different attributes; data is actually available to measure our progress. We become sophisticated in developing community assets and relationships to other institutions. I think the report is merely a sampling of the great things that are occurring and those that can occur when we organize.

5. What do you think the future holds for low-income neighborhoods?

I hope good things; I pray marvelous things.


Interesting read

Ripple Effects from Fannie and Freddie: Mortgage Giants' Problems Could Mean Higher Loan Rates by Nancy Trejos

Treasury Takes Steps to Bolster Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac by Neil Irwin and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum

American Murder Mystery by Hanna Rosin

Rebuttal to American Murder Mystery article by Sunia Zaterman, Executive Director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA)

Governors await running-mate call by the Associated Press

Read more »