Cea Weaver

Had a nice chat with Peter Marcuse last night, and he posed an interesting question: why do Americans support Medicaid but don’t currently appear to have a strong desire for something like “Housingaid”?

Good question, no quick answer. But has "Housingaid" really been presented as a possibility? Media coverage here suggests not. There is no enlistment of a popular campaign to support the $3.5T, which could doom it. Compare w/how council housing was popularised in 30s/40s.

No, nothing like "Housingaid" (i.e. some form of universal housing safety net) has ever been on the table. My understanding (please @ceaweaver or @taraghuveer correct me if I'm wrong) is the current bill ofc isn't it--it's (much needed) funding for existing patchwork of programs

But maybe the actual implication of the comparison with Medicaid is that a universal housing safety net (in whatever form--and the form it would take is definitely important) is in fact a popular demand just waiting to be made

I mean the closest universal housing program we have is the mortgage interest tax dedication and it’s a bad one

Good point--things can be both universal and bad, or universal and good...

Right it’s not universal if the cost to entry is a house you can buy lol