People First: One Size Does Not Fit All
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Homelessness is a rapidly growing challenge throughout the United States.
HUD is the largest funder of homelessness. Its funding is largely distributed through counties and through an additional layer of bureaucracy created under Housing First called Continuum of Care boards (CoCs). More than 230 counties and CoCs across the nation followed HUD in adopting Housing First as their one-size-fits-all policy, including ECHO, the CoC that oversees Austin’s HUD funding.
Housing First was initially introduced by HUD in 2008 to address the chronically homeless those struggling with severe mental illness and addiction, largely the ones we see on the streets. The idea was to get them off the streets and into housing as quickly as possible as “the system” was incurring significant costs due to them living on the streets.
no daylight between the grover norquist no tax pledge for republicans in the house, that most have signed, and all but six house republicans have signed. 234 of the 240 have signed the no tax increase pledge. 41 of 47 senators have signed it. whatever that window was opened, it was opened ever so briefly and slammed close not only by speaker boehner, paul ryan, but grover norquist and his group, americans for tax reform, said any net tax increase is a violation of the pledge. the gang of six proposal, vague though it is, in their opinion, has enough detail to tell them there are tax increases in there and the simpson-bowles presidential commission on deficit and debt reduction from which the gang of six drew much of its policy inspiration also violates the pledge so we re back to square one. who made grover norquist
deficit and debt reduction from which the gang of six drew much of its policy inspiration also violates the pledge so we re back to square one. who made grover norquist king? he was at national journal last week. we had a long conversation. he said look, i m not speaking for grover norquist i m just asking you to give me the history. he said look, the pledge grew out of tax reform efforts led by ronald reagan in 1986 because the tax reform movement did not want to increase taxes. remember back then, those of us who were around, that was tax revenue neutral. it changed the code but didn t raise tax didn t increase taxes. he said from then on, the posture of that group was if you sign this pledge, you will never in your office that you are running for or in, vote to increase taxes on a net basis. grover s opinion is the pledge isn t to him, it s to the voters who evaluate that pledge in whatever contest you re running in, the republican primary or general election.