Don't get mad; get it right

Sam Hieb thinks Greensboro bloggers aren't outraged enough about the mess that happened at St. James II, and suggests that Greensboro shouldn't fund any other such projects.

I agree that we should be outraged about the waste of money that could have actually helped poor people. I don't agree that Greensboro should stop doing projects like these. Instead, it should stop doing them the way it has been doing them, that is, without sufficient oversight.

If you look at Greensboro's recent history with low-income housing, here's what you see: independent leaders like Michael King, Skip Alston, and Christian Wellness repeatedly asking the City Council for funds or other help, with the Council repeatedly granting those requests.

At the same time, HCD staff repeatedly ask for increased financial accountability, and are resisted. (I think this is the source of Alston's "racism" comment.)

You can read the same story played out time and again here, here, here, here and here.

The answer is not to curtail low-income housing in Greensboro -- the answer is to provide city staff with the resources to make sure that the city's investment is adminstered responsibly.