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Editorial: Unfair and unwise

Cuts to the federal Section 8 housing program are fraying the lifelines for a vulnerable group of Americans who cannot afford to pay for a roof over their heads.

In Vermont, the problem could be compounded by a proposal by Gov. Jim Douglas to divert property transfer taxes to the ballooning Medicaid deficit, instead of applying them to low-income housing.

This double strike would hit the working poor, the elderly and the disabled in our state, taking resources from proven housing solutions to plug holes in leaky budgets. This is short-sighted and wrong.

The federal Section 8 program provides subsidies to ensure eligible families don't spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent. More than 5,600 Vermont families rely on the program, and there is a long waiting list as the cost of housing continues to climb.

The federal cuts would chop between 73 and 100 housing vouchers from the state's 11 housing authorities this year. In Vermont, where house prices are soaring and the supply of rental units is scarce, the vouchers allow people to compete in a tight housing market. It gives them a home when the other alternative is a temporary shelter.

Vermont's property transfer tax should not be used to move funds from affordable housing to Medicaid. This would provide short-term relief for the crisis in health care while making housing problems worse.

The property transfer tax was established so that if house prices escalated, as they are now, this money would fund ways to ease the impact on low-income housing and land. Under a statutory formula, about half of the revenues are dedicated to affordable housing and conservation projects through the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. There is also a federal supplement.

This money and the federal housing subsidies have had a positive effect on housing availability and affordability for Vermonters. More families have been able to stay out of shelters and people with disabilities and the elderly have been able to live independently, rather than in institutions.

Shifting money away from affordable housing at the same time federal housing subsidies are diminishing could force people out of their apartments and into places that are meant as temporary refuges — not homes.

These Vermonters deserve better. The lifelines must remain strong.