“The Washington Post reports that $2.8 million that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) spent to help D.C. public-housing residents start new businesses has resulted in only ‘marginal evidence of benefits for the poor.’ Most of the money ended up in the pockets of ‘consultants,’ many of whom didn’t perform any ‘consulting.’ The waste of taxpayer money is, of course, important to note. But we should also remember the lesson that the 19th-century Frenchman Frederic Bastiat taught us: to also focus on the unseen consequences of government action. When the government points to a public-housing project, it proclaims, ‘See how we helped the poor with your money.’ But what about all the commerce and business that did not come into existence because the money was taken away from people through taxation? If it had been left in the hands of the people, they would have purchased more shoes, which would have meant more jobs for the poor in the shoe industry. Or they would have remodeled their home, resulting in more jobs in the housing industry. Corrupt government agencies like HUD not only do not help the poor, they actually make their plight worse than it is.”
CAPSULE COMMENTARY: “HUD Hurts the Poor”
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