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A Controversial Solution To D.C.’s Housing Crisis: Help The Middle Class | WAMU

May 02, 2019
  • D.C. Policy Center

On May 2, 2019, Executive Director Yesim Taylor’s report on D.C.’s housing stock was cited by WAMU:

In her proposed 2020 budget, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has called for the creation of an unprecedented $20 million “workforce housing” fund that would subsidize homes affordable to middle-income professionals like teachers, social workers, first responders and yes, journalists. The budget is subject to approval from the D.C. Council, which takes its first budget vote May 14.

[…]

Finally, some say supporting workforce housing could reduce stress on the overall housing market, with indirect benefits for low-income residents. A key driver of displacement in the city is higher-income people competing with lower-income people for homes, according to the D.C. Policy Center, a business-backed think tank. Provide more housing for those higher-income-but-not-wealthy people, the theory goes, and you reduce competition for lower-cost homes.

Read more: A Controversial Solution To D.C.’s Housing Crisis: Help The Middle Class | WAMU

Related: Taking Stock of the District’s Housing Stock: The Full Report | D.C. Policy Center

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D.C. Policy Center


Established in 2016, the D.C. Policy Center is a non-partisan research and policy organization committed to advancing policies for a strong and vibrant economy in the District of Columbia. Through rigorous research and collaboration, the D.C. Policy Center develops and tests policy ideas, disseminates its findings, and engages in constructive dialogue and debate.

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