This is truly beyond belief. Below is a proposed rule from H.U.D. that is the first step down the road to government engineering of neighborhoods along racial and ethnic lines. Discrimination in public accommodations is both a worthwhile objective and relatively easy to monitor and enforce. Forcing it in entire neighborhoods is another thing. Here in New York City, there are exceptionally well to do areas that are populated primarily by ethnic groups such as Koreans, Indians, Jews, African Americans, Italians, etc. These people choose to live there. My own neighborhood which was primarily Jewish, is now rapidly becoming Asian. Is the government going to measure the ethnic breakdown of each neighborhood and then regulate who can live there? Heaven help us.
When government starts throwing around words like "fair" and affirmatively" you'd better start worrying because their understanding of what those words mean may not coincide with yours.
Proposed Rule.
Summary
Through this rule, HUD proposes to
provide HUD program participants with more effective means to affirmatively
further the purposes and policies of the Fair Housing Act, which is Title VIII
of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. The Fair Housing Act not only prohibits
discrimination but, in conjunction with other statutes, directs HUD's program
participants to take steps proactively to overcome historic patterns of
segregation, promote fair housing choice, and foster inclusive communities for
all. As acknowledged by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) and
many stakeholders, advocates, and program participants, the current practice of
affirmatively furthering fair housing carried out by HUD grantees, which
involves an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice and a certification
that the grantee will affirmatively further fair housing, has not been as
effective as had been envisioned. This rule accordingly proposes to refine
existing requirements with a fair housing assessment and planning process that
will better aid HUD program participants fulfill this statutory obligation and
address specific comments the GAO raised. To facilitate this new approach, HUD
will provide states, local governments, insular areas, and public housing
agencies (PHAs), as well as the communities they serve, with data on patterns
of integration and segregation; racially and ethnically concentrated areas of
poverty; access to education, employment, low-poverty, transportation, and
environmental health, among other critical assets; disproportionate housing
needs based on the classes protected under the Fair Housing Act; data on
individuals with disabilities and families with children; and discrimination.
From these data, program participants will evaluate their present environment
to assess fair housing issues, identify the primary determinants that account
for those issues, and set forth fair housing priorities and goals. The benefit
of this approach is that these priorities and goals will then better inform
program participant's strategies and actions by improving the integration of
the assessment of fair housing through enhanced coordination with current
planning exercises. This proposed rule further commits HUD to greater
engagement and better guidance for program participants in fulfilling their
obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. With this new clarity through
guidance, a template for the assessment, and a HUD-review process, program participants
should achieve more meaningful outcomes that affirmatively further fair
housing.
Unified Agenda
