Section 8 in New Jersey

Today I will go over a topic that I have discussed in the past. Back then I included it with another issue.
I have since then come to the conclusion that it deserves a whole blog. As the title says, the issue is Section 8.
For those who know me they know where I stand, I consider myself a liberal in the true sense, with government helping those who cannot help themselves, and looking at government as the overseer in many instances, regulating, defending the interests of the have nots.
But Section 8 is a program that I believe does not help. It may have had a good intention originally, but it is not serving the interests of society as a whole.
I know a few people who are on the program. In many instances it is doing what it should, helping people who help themselves. What do I mean by this? I am all in favor of somebody who is working, may have a disability and with their work they are paying the majority of the rent, while Section 8 pays a small part of it. This is how it should be.
Now let’s look at the other side of the coin. We have lots of people who are not paying anything out of their pocket except for a few dollars a month. Now these are, in many instances, single parents with several kids. First, where is the father? If there is one, how come he is not living in the premises? If the couple is divorced how come the father is not paying his fair share of Alimony?
I know that people say, well… he gets paid cash, he lives in another state, and it is very hard to do anything. I find that to be a bunch of bull. If I don’t pay Uncle Sam what he considers his fair share in taxes, the federal government doesn’t care whether I moved to Hawaii, to Massachusetts or to Florida. They will make me pay. Why don’t we put these fathers on the wanted list? They are defaulting, not only those children, but also society, as we all have to pay for that. Second, is the parent living at home capable of working? If that parent is capable why is he or she not working? Third, do they have kids in a working age living at home? I’m not saying high school age, but if they are working why aren’t they paying for part of the rent? I don’t think we should encourage parasites.
I agree that people don’t want to live in a drug infested area, but they should live in an area based on their income. I would love to live in a very affluent area of New Jersey, but it is out of my reach.
I have also seen many instances in which a man calls me about a rental, and then he tells me that it’s his wife who is going to be renting the place with Section 8.
As a realtor I have had many cases in which the listing agent or the owner will say ‘no section 8”, and even though it may be illegal to say no, that owner will do what it takes not to rent to a Section 8 tenant. Why? Very simple, because it becomes impossible to get them out. Judges will always side with the tenants, because they have, in many instances, small kids.
And I have to side with the owners on this one, because they are not a good investment. I will help owners find alternatives. The system is setup so that the day that you take them in you are stuck until they feel like leaving. If they don’t, good luck.
A friend of mine always says that I don’t understand conservatives. I do in this case. He also says that I cannot generalize because you have bad apples, and that they tend to be a minority. I respect his point of view, but because my experience in this industry over the last 6 years, and the horror stories that I hear from other colleagues in the industry, I have to say that they are the majority.
I think it also comes down to the people that run the public housing that I think that are many times at fault, they seem to encourage parasites, they defend them against all odds, and they are not teaching people how to fish, they are just making them dependent on somebody providing that fish forever.
This friend also says where is the love of Christ, where is your compassion, the compassion of God? I am all for the love of Christ, but I don’t believe that Section 8 has anything to do with compassion or love, it has more to do with enslaving people into a trap system, and it also has to do with people abusing the system.