People across the nation are speaking out against the Obama administration\u2019s intention to privatize 1.2 million public housing units, under a HUD proposal called Transforming Rental Assistance (TRA) initiative. On May 25, 2010, at a congressional hearing, Congresswoman Maxine Waters <\/a>and many housing advocacy organizations from across the country spoke out against HUD’s proposal, and submitted written statements for the hearing record opposing TRA, including the Los Angeles Coalition to End Hunger and Homelessness and other Los Angeles housing and human rights organizations.<\/p>\n Here is a summary of Congressman Water\u2019s main arguments against the administration\u2019s proposal:<\/p>\n George Lakoff,<\/a> had this to say about the HUD proposal at Common Dreams.org<\/a>:<\/p>\n The banks and developers make a fortune, with the taxpayers paying for it. The public loses its public housing property. The impoverished tenants lose their apartments, or have their rents go way up if they are forced into the private market. Homelessness increases. Government gets smaller. The banks and developers win. It is a Bank Bonanza! The poor and the public lose.<\/p>\n And a precedent is set. The government can privatize any public property: Schools, libraries, national parks, federal buildings \u2013 just as has begun to happen in California, where the right-wing governor has started to auction off state property and has even suggested selling off the Supreme Court building.<\/p>\n The rich will get richer, the poor and public get poorer. And the very idea of the public good withers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" People across the nation are speaking out against the Obama administration\u2019s intention to privatize 1.2 million public housing units, under a HUD proposal called<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3374,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[128,519,10],"tags":[521,522,520,525],"yoast_head":"\n\n