Republicans call themselves deficit hawks, but their Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 will add $3 trillion to the federal budget deficit. It won’t be long until Republican deficit hawks start screaming about the need to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to reduce the deficit they created. But we don’t have to wait until then to see reduced support for programs supporting the neediest among us.
The Census Bureau classifies 46% of renters as cost burdened, because they spend more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. These renters rely up on affordable housing subsidized by low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) established under the Tax Reform Act of 1986. The LIHTC program is responsible for almost 700,000 affordable housing units built or converted during the last two decades.
The picture is not so rosy going forward. The value of LIHTCs have already fallen 10% during Trumps term in office. As a result, Reis Commercial Real Estate Data and Analytics projects a 40% reduction in affordable housing units coming on line in 2019 through 2022.
The projected reductions in affordable housing stock are just more evidence that Republican tax cuts for the wealthy actually do not trickle down to the people most in need.
