Merrill Matthews Jr.

Federal housing assistance generally falls into two categories: housing constructed and maintained at government expense, and Section 8 housing vouchers, which provide rental assistance to low-income families. In the following viewpoint, Merrill Matthews Jr. argues that the government should abandon public housing projects and instead fund more Section 8 vouchers. Unlike public housing projects, he contends, housing vouchers allow tenants the freedom to choose where they live. Furthermore, under the housing voucher program, tenants do not have to move when they are no longer eligible for federal subsidies. The author is the vice president for domestic policy at the National Center for Policy Analysis, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research institute based in Dallas, Texas.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What is the legacy of public housing, from the author’s perspective?
2. According to Matthews...