Say Anything Blog

Your tax dollars, hard at work:

Hundreds of families living in housing subsidized by Fairfax County taxpayers exceed income caps designed to ensure that only the neediest receive assistance, a review of county records shows.

In the most extreme cases, Fairfax is underwriting rents for families making well into six figures: One household getting help makes more than $216,000 a year; another, $184,000. Dozens of others—making $60,000, $70,000, $90,000—exceed eligibility caps. And they do so with the tacit approval of county housing administrators, who do little to encourage occupants to move on when their fortunes improve.

Of course, I don’t know what’s more amazing, the fact that people making six flippin’ figures are on the taxpayer dole, or the fact that the clueless Washington Post columnist responsible for the story attributes the problem to...a housing shortage.

The fact that higher-income families choose to remain in subsidized housing illustrates the critical lack of affordable housing in Fairfax.

Bu-bu-but...house in Fairfax is so expensive!

The median new-home price in the region’s largest jurisdiction is $960,000, and the average monthly rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,306, according to county data.

First of all, $1,300/month is an appropriate amount of rent for someone earning six figures.

Second, why is the responsibility of the taxpayers to subsidize your choice to live in an expensive neighborhood?

I think I’m going to move to Manhattan and then get some reporter to write a story about how I have to live in public housing because I can’t afford a $1 million apartment.