Bush's War Against the Elderly

And no, it's not about the very expensive train to nowhere but about basic housing.

From Alaska Daily http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/anchorage/story/7045690p-6949631c.html>

The same day 64-year-old Barbara May came home from the hospital last week, she got a letter saying her share of subsidized rent would be jumping from $189 to $426 a month. She lives on Social Security with a bit of state assistance. So she'll have to move to a small apartment across town.

About 600 low-income individuals and families around Alaska have been sent similar edicts from the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation: Pay more or move.
The cutbacks are due to a drop in federal housing funds this year, said Wes Weir, public housing director of AHFC.

Alaska took a bigger hit than other states because the federal government did not take into account additional expenses due to distances and other factors here, Weir said. The percentages and formulas are "based on a model not accurate for Alaska," he said.

AHFC quit adding new clients for five months this year to save money, leaving thousands on a waiting list. They include mainly low-income people, who may be in substandard housing or staying with relatives.

Beginning Oct. 1, the agency also tightened rules on what size unit each person or family receiving the help qualifies for. AHFC has dipped into its own reserves to partially make up for the rental-assistance funding shortfall, Weir said.

"It is unfair. It's unfair to all of our clients. And It's unfair to clients on the wait list, too," he said.
The agency received about $626,000 less for rental assistance this year over last year from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, Weir said.

"We appealed. We lost the appeals," he said. U.S. Sens. Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski, both Alaska Republicans, have also asked for a meeting with top federal officials to discuss the situation, Weir said.

The agency could get permission from the Alaska Legislature to spend more state money on low-income renters, but that doesn't seem likely, said AHFC public relations director Bryan Butcher.