Comment on Kirk Mcclure's "The low-income housing tax credit program goes mainstream and moves to the suburbs"

• Published in: Housing policy debate Vol. 17; no. 3; pp. 447 - 459
• Main Author: Freeman, Lance
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2006; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Housing assistance programs; Low income groups; Low income housing credit; Low-income housing; Minority & ethnic groups; Poverty; Public housing; State court decisions; Studies; Tax credits; United States > US
• ISSN: 1051-1482; 2152-050X
• DOI: 10.1080/10511482.2006.9521577

As McClure's article notes, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program has indeed gone mainstream. Given the tarnished reputation of many other federal low-income housing programs, this is good news. It is also surprising in some ways considering the many programmatic flaws inherent in the LIHTC program. As a point of departure, I look at why McClure and others are able to describe the program in a positive light despite its many flaws. I attribute this to the unique political culture of the United States, for which the LIHTC program is well suited. In addition, it sidesteps one of the thorniest problems that have bedeviled low-income housing programs-the spatial isolation of poor minorities. Until the LIHTC program explicitly addresses this issue, however, any praise must be tempered by a great deal of caution.