Submission by Tom DeWeese, American Policy Center

You are a poor minority living in a government housing project called “Affordable.” It’s all paid for by the tax dollars of mostly middle-income Americans. Included are still more government programs that provide monthly checks and coupons for food, free healthcare, free education, and—let’s also throw in—free cell phones.

Does that not make us a generous nation? Are the poor not well cared for and satisfied? Aren’t the taxpayers proud of their contribution to the common good? The answer to every one of these questions is no.

First, consider the facts about that stipend income from the welfare check. Originally, it was called “assistance,” and the purpose was to help out when a paycheck didn’t quite cover the essentials during difficult times. Over time, the system changed from “assistance” to “government benefit.” Now, it’s an entire system of total dependence. While there are promises of job training and even some actual jobs, few offer enough income or security to allow recipients to leave the program. In addition, if a recipient tries to save some of that money for an emergency, it can be confiscated—and the welfare check may be stopped altogether. It’s no longer “assistance” during hard times. Now, it’s control.

Then there’s the public housing situation. Here’s what it’s like to actually live in these government projects: in many cities, the neighborhoods are drastically run-down and in disrepair. Lights, air conditioning, and appliances fail to work. The roof leaks, windows are broken, and the plumbing backs up. Trash piles up around the grounds and is rarely—if ever—removed. Don’t even think about trying to do yard work to create a safe place for children to play. Worse, residents live in fear of gangs like MS-13 that have taken over the neighborhoods. Pimps, pedophiles, and drug dealers prey on the children. And no matter how many times residents request repairs, nothing happens.

Why are the conditions so bad in this government-controlled housing? Because government is a monopoly with no incentive to be efficient. Taxpayers are forced to pay, and the money rolls in so politicians can puff out their chests and boast about how generous they are. Meanwhile, the properties are managed by government bureaucrats who have no personal stake in them. Their paychecks keep coming in—regardless of the condition of the buildings they oversee.

In such an atmosphere, the inherent hopelessness leaves little room for setting goals or building a future. There is rarely a way out once the system has a hold on you. By herding minorities and low-income families like cattle into these tenements, the government condemns them to a future worse than poverty. They lose their rights, their choices, and their ability to succeed through self-determination and personal growth.

Yet, proponents of government housing want you to believe they are the compassionate ones—helping minorities survive in an oppressive, capitalist world dominated by the rich. Fear is the tactic used to keep minorities under government control. Anyone who opposes the system and advocates for sound economics and equal opportunity is accused of heartlessness and racism—accused of trying to pull the plug on the welfare lifeline.

To promote fear and division, politicians, the news media, and the public education system continually hammer home the idea that our nation’s founders created an oppressive society in which white Americans get all the benefits and minorities are deliberately held down. They claim that the free enterprise system is designed to take money from the poor and put it in the pockets of the rich. The result? Strife, jealousy, and racial hatred. Meanwhile, it is the middle class that funds most of it—through their weekly paychecks, purchases, and property taxes.

The true purpose of all this is to pave the way for the agenda being promoted by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and other entities aiming to replace our system of representative government with global governance.

This, then, is the determined mission of today’s radical leftist movement, which now controls the Democrat Party. They seek to be seen as the saviors of the oppressed. Government oversight, wealth redistribution, and “social justice” are their tools to enforce a false equality. But the only true result has been the massive growth of poverty.

Now, these forces are working to expand their reach by pushing the failed government housing model into your neighborhood. Their new goal is to eliminate single-family home zoning protections. They claim these policies allow wealthy homeowners to “self-segregate” from those they don’t want nearby. According to them, private property ownership is racist. To establish “true freedom,” they say we must open up these “white privilege neighborhoods” to federal fair housing programs—including high-rise government rental units. They argue that single-family zoning contributes to the housing shortage. Their logic? “We could put ten families where only one lives now. It’s only fair!”

Baltimore, Maryland, became one of the first cities to feel this pressure. The NAACP sued the city over alleged housing segregation, arguing that Section 8 housing programs “bunch people together” and fuel crime and other problems. Their solution? Integrate the poor into wealthier neighborhoods. Outrageous as it may sound, these advocates claim this will increase income opportunities for the poor simply by relocating them to more affluent areas.

Under this pressure, Baltimore agreed to spend $30 million in taxpayer money over ten years to build 1,000 low-income homes in affluent neighborhoods.

The result? A decline in property values and the loss of equity for homeowners. In short, the destruction of earned wealth and the further weakening of the middle class—producing even more poor. It’s a growth product. Meanwhile, massive corporations like BlackRock swoop in to buy property at a steep discount. They build the apartments and public housing—and profit handsomely.

In Portland, Oregon—the infamous poster child of federal Smart Growth policies—the city council unanimously approved a new tax to raise $12 million per year for “affordable housing.”

Commissioner Dan Saltzman said, “The lack of affordable housing is the greatest crisis facing our city right now.” Perhaps he should examine Portland’s 20-year Smart Growth history, where vast amounts of land were locked away to limit urban sprawl. This led to land shortages, bans on single-family homes, and the need for dense high-rise buildings. That, in turn, led to rising costs and shortages of homes. Now, the city is in a “crisis” over a lack of affordable housing. Their solution? More taxes—driving up housing costs even further.

These attacks on private property are growing nationwide. Landlords of privately owned apartments are now labeled as villains. They’re being hit with more taxes, rules, regulations, and even bans on determining whether potential renters can afford the property. This is an attack on private property rights—an entire industry under siege.

Government officials claim that denying someone a rental unit because they can’t afford it is “discrimination by right-wing capitalism.” But any rational person would ask: How can a landlord survive if tenants don’t pay rent? The result will be fewer landlords and fewer housing options. Housing shortage, indeed.

All of these policies—instituted in the name of social justice and wealth redistribution—will lead to one final outcome: the end of private homeownership. Private homes, rental properties, and the individual’s ability to prosper will disappear. The rule of law will give way to “fairness.” Social justice, in this context, means the redistribution of yourwealth—money you earned, saved, invested, and protected for your needs, your dreams, your future.

Eventually—and soon—the only source of housing will be the government. Take a hard look at the devastated neighborhoods already under government control and see your future. Property rights and personal ownership are equal opportunities for everyone to build wealth and freedom. It’s how the United States became so prosperous in the first place.

Our Founding Fathers understood that private property ownership was the vital key to freedom. They also knew that local government representation is essential to protecting liberty from a tyrannical central government with no real stake in citizens’ lives. Centralized government destroys personal choice, incentive, and the wealth that comes from both. That is why we are now plunging into poverty.

As our nation approaches its 250th birthday, it is urgent that American citizens unite and demand an answer from our locally elected representatives:

Who do you represent—your constituents, or powerful special interests with a destructive agenda?