Of those who receive housing aid, only 1.3 million families live in public housing units. Another 1.7 million live in private, government-subsidized developments. Another 1.1 million families receive the kind of housing vouchers Dole and Lazio lauded. That leaves almost 10 million poor households to fend for themselves in the private housing marketplace. Most of them pay more than half of their meager incomes just to keep a roof over their heads.
Public housing represents only a small fraction of the nation's housing for the poor.
It certainly isn't primarily responsible for persistent poverty, racial segregation, and urban crime. Moreover, during the past decade, there's been almost no new public housing built. No doubt, federal housing programs can be improved. First, we should encourage people with a mix of incomes to live in these developments. Adding working class families to public housing provides poor residents with role models and job contacts.