TOPA legislation was passed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and has led to the preservation of 1,400 affordable housing units between 2003-2013, a much more cost-effective option than building new units, according to a report from the DC Fiscal Policy Institute.
“It’s not enough to force someone to take an apartment just because it’s free. You have to place people where they’re going to succeed instead of just pushing them into housing,” said Kate Coventry, an analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute.
What we’re after, and what the lives and livelihoods of people of color depend on, is a tax system that embodies racial justice both in its design and in the public investments it provides.
DCFPI, a progressive think tank that has advocated for stricter oversight of the trust fund, says DC’s recent investments into affordable housing could help the housing department finally overcome historical challenges it has faced.
Eliana Golding, DC Fiscal Policy Institute’s affordable housing and workforce development policy analyst, sees subsidies as one way to promote affordable housing, but she disagrees with how the District has put subsidies into place.
They say the tax increase can make a dent; it’s expected to fund 2,400 additional housing vouchers over the next year alone, a four-fold increase over recent years, according to an analysis by the liberal-leaning D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute.
The bill will address a distinct form of discrimination, Kate Coventry, senior policy analyst at DCFPI, testified Wednesday. “For example, if a woman is denied service at a restaurant because she appears homeless, not because of her gender,” she said.
Earlier this year, the DC Fiscal Policy Institute released a report that recommends devoting cannabis tax revenue towards building community wealth for communities disproportionately harmed by the war on drugs.
According to a 2018 D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute report, racially-biased policies and practices in hiring, homeownership, and education have generated a significant wealth imbalance in the District.
In her testimony before the council in July 2020, Alyssa Noth, former policy analyst at DCFPI, & current director for intergovernmental affairs at DCPS, said expanding access to the GSA is a “small step small step toward a more equitable public school system.”