Chapter 8 (Housing and Social Justice) Flashcards
What factors define homelessness?
Characterized by transience (temporariness) of place and instability and flux in terms of shelter. In addition, factors such as a lack of social policies, lack of health care, lack of affordable housing, and discrimination are social issues that define homelessness. On the other hand, the federal government defines a homeless person as an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence, while relying on one of the following: (a) a primary night- time residence that is a publicly or privately operated shelter—including some type of supervision—designed to provide temporary living accommodations; (b) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or (c) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, such as streets, under bridges, or in cars.
What are the major causes of homelessness in the United States?
Why have few social policies been developed that address the problem of homelessness?
What are the current federal policies that provide housing for low-income persons?
Current federal policies like the United States Housing Act of 1937, housing vouchers, the Community Development Block Grant, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, known as Freddie Mac provide affordable housing for low-income people.
Why does the United States have a shortage of affordable and accessible housing?
What is the role of the market economy in the provision of affordable and accessible housing?
The inadequate supply of rental units, combined with their rising cost, highlight the failure of the market economy, by itself, to deliver and sustain low-income housing to low-income persons. The profit incentive, central to all market transactions, deters the movement of capital into low-income housing. Low rents mean less profit and also fewer resources available for maintenance and upkeep of housing units. On its own, the market economy will not produce low-cost housing, because the return on investment to builders is too low. In other words, low rent or very inexpensive home prices would not be profitable.
What is the mortgage crisis, and how did it contribute to widespread economic problems in the United States?
The mortgage meltdown implicated financial firms that had created and then invested heavily in mortgage-backed securities, known as mortgage derivatives. Holding these securities had become a huge liability when the U.S. mortgage market collapsed as homeowners defaulted on their loans. As word of the problems of these investment banks spread, confidence dropped, and a large stock sell-off caused a loss of paper profits associated with the housing bubble. Meanwhile, unemployment rates were rising as consumer confidence was falling; the country was in a recession and possibly heading toward a depression.
How is discrimination a factor in housing availability and accessibility, as well as in housing policy?
How are people discriminated against in the housing market? They may be told no housing is available in certain areas where housing stock exists, or they can be shown fewer rentals or homes for sale than are actually available. Prospective renters also may be offered noncompetitive or one-sided leases, or have rental applications denied solely based on their ethnicity. In addition, discrimination is a factor in housing policies as redlining was encouraged by federal agencies. Redlining, which is when lenders refuse to give loans to persons in specific geographic areas or impose heavy restrictions on borrowers living in areas with high concentrations of ethnic groups, especially African Americans and Latinos.
For example, the FHA effectively encouraged redlining in its mortgage policies for decades.
How do middle-class and wealthy taxpayers benefit from tax policies related to housing?
The federal government subsidizes a small amount of housing for low-income persons, but the majority of housing subsidies benefit middle-class and wealthy persons through tax expenditures. Tax expenditures are tax revenue not collected due to deductions, credits, and exemptions. Compared to direct subsidies for housing for lower-income persons, tax expenditures are subject to less public discussion or debate, yet their impact far exceeds that of direct subsidies. Homeowners with high incomes benefit from these tax expenditures much more than do lower-income homeowners, in large part because lower-income taxpayers are less likely to itemize deductions, which means they generally don’t benefit from mortgage interest write-offs.
What is the role of social workers in advocating for economic and social justice regarding housing affordability and accessibility?
What values explain the United States failure to provide affordable shelter?
Historical values that emphasize individualism, self-reliance, and a general distrust of government interference in markets partly explain our failure to ensure affordable shelter to many living in the United States.
What historical perspective in the United States has impeded anti-poverty programs?
In the view of one scholar, this focus on dividing economically depressed populations into those deserving help and others “undeserving” of government assistance has hampered U.S. anti-poverty programs for many decades.
What factors played a role in the increase of homeless people who are mentally ill?
The deinstitutionalization of the mentally disordered in the late 1960s, absent the establishment of the necessary outpatient services for such a fragile population, led to a large increase in persons who were homeless and mentally ill in the late 1970s. The number of homeless persons grew again in the 1980s, as housing and social service cuts increased under the policies of the Reagan administration.
What is the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987?
The first major federal initiative to address homelessness was the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, passed by Congress in 1987 and renamed the McKinney-Vento Act in 2000 during President Clinton’s tenure. It made federal monies available to communities that wished to offer emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing for homeless persons. Under this law, Congress authorized a total of 20 possible programs that offered a multitude of services, including education, job training, mental health care, primary health care services, substance abuse treatment, and veterans’ assistance services. Funding was through block grants or a competitive process involving states and localities.
What is the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001?
The act sought to extend federal policy on homelessness to children in homeless families in order to ensure their access to public education. The act prohibited segregation of homeless children in separate schools or separate classrooms.
