From the Blog: Does President Obama Want to Privatize Public Housing?

By Keat Foong, Executive Editor

Whether you are for or against it, would anyone be really surprised if President Obama tries to privatize social security, or impose regressive VAT taxation, down the road?

For now, President Obama wants to privatize public housing. That is one interpretation of his Preservation, Enhancement and Transformation of Rental Assistance Act (PETRA). PETRA proposes to convert public housing—on a voluntary basis, it is emphasized—to project-based Section 8. This may be a boon to private multifamily owners and developers. Bankers also stand to benefit under the Act. Think of the immense, publicly owned, housing stock that is at stake.

As they say, some things that President George W. Bush never so much as dared try do are being completed by his successor, President Obama. An example is the opening of expanses of the U.S. coast line to offshore drilling for the first time ever, as a part of an energy conservation packet. Such is the audacity, change and boldness that we can believe in.