Public Housing That Worked, a new book

A comprehensive history of America's largest and most successful public housing program.

Top:  View of the Panorama of the City of New York, with NCHA (New York City Housing Authority) properties in red.  Courtesy of the Queens Museum of Art.  Bottom:  NYCHA tenant garden program at the Lafayette Houses, Courtesy of La Guardia Archive/NYCHA Photograph Collection.

Jacket design: John Hubbard.  University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008.

Congratulations to our son, father of Roxie,  on his fourth book. 

Comments

[Kay Dennison]

Congrats to Roxie's daddy!!! The book sounds interesting -- most public housing is a tenement in the making. Could it be because it's usually built among slums?

[Robert Hill]

Government housing worked? You mean to argue that something that the Government did might possibly have "worked"?

It is an article of faith amongst Reagan Republicans that it is not possible for government to get anything right. To quote Saint Reagan from his first inaugural address, "Government is not the solution, Government is the problem!"

I call this an "article of faith" because for the past 30+ years we've been subjected to conservatives and Neo-Conservatives stating and restating this again and again regardless of the evidence at hand. They don't need evidence that government might do something right, and in fact they're willing to ignore any such evidence that government might possibly do something right.

For them, it's not a matter of dealing with a rational discussion of the "facts on the ground." Rather, they're defending their FAITH, their belief that government can't do anything right regardless of what alleged facts one might present to them.

It is not a rational argument that government can't do anything right, it's an article of faith and therefore not to be questioned. It's not questioned any more than other articles of faith, such as the notion that Jesus died on the cross to absolve us of our sins. It's a pronouncement from Saint Ronald Reagan, something to be assumed in the very framing of the argument.

Beyond this, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you believe that it's not possible for Government to be the "solution to the problem," and you're in charge of the Government, why would you think that YOUR government would be able to actually solve anything? It's your believe that government exists to create and exacerbate problems. It's an article of faith that government must be bad. Therefore, when you're in charge of the government you do your damnedest to make government as much of a problem as possible. Also, to eviscerate any potential governmental programs that might actually effect some solutions to some of our problems.

I look forward to reading this book from the perspective of someone who does not assume as an article of faith that government is the problem. Indeed, I am hungry to find well-researched examples of problems that government has addressed successfully.

I am hungry for this sort of discussion and treatment of history. If you are similarly hungry, I encourage you to support this liberal notion that it is, in fact, possible for government to provide solutions by also checking out this book.

Regards,

Robert Hill
New York City

[joared]

Congrats to your son on the publication of his book. Agree with your second reader as to the potential for success of any program has a great deal to do with the attitude, efforts and commitment of those dedicated to making them work. As Kay mentioned, location can also have some bearing.

[M.E.]

OH, Wow!! Congratulations to your son!! I can't wait to read his book. Will dig around on Amazon to find it.

BTW, I added an update to my ESL post.

[Claude]

Wonderful! Congratulations to your son!

[MotherPie]

What an interesting topic... what other books has he written? I bet you are a proud mama. Does Roxie show these talents?