Truly Affordable Social Housing, Paid For By The Free Market? Dream On

Fantasy high rise building construction rises agains the dawn sky.
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Given the enormous capability of free-market builders, it's easy to imagine them solving the world's social housing crisis. But have they any incentive to tackle the job, and put the necessary pieces together?

Why go to Australia via Canada in order to understand the USA’s RAD (Rental Assistance Demonstration program) — the social housing rescue initiative of Department of Housing and Urban Development1.

Well, it seems we have Australians inclined to imagine that the private sector will pay for subsidies necessary to build much-needed new social housing. This rogue concept, shared by RAD, is a misconception.

The Canadian program creeps into view because its population also tends to be deluded that friendly neighbourhood free market developers are bleeding heart liberals. Of course they should be happy to subsidize Canada’s badly needed social housing. But alas, they aren’t. Read more in The Conversation: The private sector housing experiment has failed: Ottawa must now step up on social housing

The Conversation is an international publication that claims to offer academic rigour, at the same time as journalistic flair. In other words, it hopes to be meaty, but also easy to understand. This approach in an Australian article will help explain why the private sector won’t save the social housing day in any of the above-mentioned countries.

Without further fanfare, read more in The Conversation: Let’s not kid ourselves that private investors or super funds will build the social housing we need

 

Footnotes

  1. Here’s an explainer about RAD, published by HUD: What is RAD?