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THE ECONOMY'S LAST STAND?

Boston
THE ECONOMY'S  LAST STAND?
OK, maybe that's a bit drastic, but now what we have your attention… In its most capitalist form, you could consider affordable housing a conduit for federal funds to the state economy. But the stimulus is over, Capitol Hill is austerity minded, and tax reform that could eliminate incentives may be around the corner.
Raymod Skinner at Baltimore Four Seasons, Harbor East, on Jan. 31, 2012
This morning at Bisnow's Baltimore Affordable Housing Summit, Maryland Sec. of Housing & Community Development Raymond Skinner was asked how affordable housing benefits the local economy. His answer was a rundown of federal stimulus spending: $110M through the state's Tax Credit Assistance Program and Section 1602 programs. The state leveraged that into $375M to fund 28 deals in 2010 and 24 in 2011. That money entered the economy for labor, goods, and professional services. Still, a lot of affordable housing deals require as many as five funding sources, and federal funding is working its way up the endangered species list. Hence Raymond's petition to our 260 attendees to lobby advocate for these programs in the federal budget and tax code.