Strong Housing Policy Would Have Benefits Beyond Housing

"From growing up realizing housing was fundamental to our lives, I now realize it's just a symptom --- and housing policy really isn't just about housing at all."

"Almost a fourth of children in the third grade in this country have attended at least two schools since the first grade. Studies tell us that children moving from school to school as their parents look for decent affordable housing, do less well in school."

"A 'housing wage' is the hourly minimum wage needed for an individual working forty hours a week to afford a two bedroom apartment for her or his family. The National Low Income Housing Coalition calculates this figure each year and in 2006 it rose to a national average of $16.31. Workers earning the federal minimum wage of $5.85 are unable to afford a two bedroom apartment anywhere in the country and 88% of these workers are unable to afford even a one bedroom apartment."

"A strong national housing policy in this country would work to give every household a safe decent affordable place to live. It would be good fiscal policy. We'd save money on education, on health care, on transportation, on emergency services, and create new opportunities by generating jobs, increase tax revenues, and enable families to make their own decisions about spending."