Show Lets Let's Hope We Can Learn Lean sponsored Government sponsored housing ho subsidy programs gra s have been extremely costly have not improved ct deteriorating neighborhoods and have not even ven even done avery good job of providing h homes mes for people Former Secretary e of Housing and Urban Development George Romney calls the federal subsidy programs rog ams for r low moderate billion ml mistake take and income housing a n Th They y have been beset by mismanagement and scandal M More re than housing units were foreclosed and more th than owners owners were were in default in 1970 In 1971 1911 these figures rose to and In the first six months months' of 1972 there Vere were vere f foreclosures es and borrowers in hi default More than one quarter of the s subsidized homes built under the newest housing act 1968 have serious structural faults to a rece recent st study dy made by the General Accounting Office and 44 ji per per r cent of existing buildings bought with federal s subsidies ies and serious structural structural structural tural defects Subsidized apartment buildings c cost up to 1020 20 20 per cent more t to erect than those financed by private capital There is n needed eded a thorough revaluation and arid search for alternative housing programs program The federal government Has lias been trying since 1932 housing opportunities for the poor and for those with modest incomes Ma Many of th the programs have been co costly failures Its It's long past time for Congress ss to find out what programs will wilt actually provide homes and improve D neighborhoods r borho ds Perhaps the best answer will b be beto to rely inore more he heavily vi y on the private riva bo Ind local u si e housing Industry and pro pro- grams sP J I |