Voice of The Southern: Carson's response to Cairo not enough

Voice of The Southern: Carson's response to Cairo not enough

Baloney!

That’s our response to letters Ben Carson, Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, sent to the people of Cairo earlier this week.

Carson’s letters were a reply to a series of notes penned by Mary Beth Goff’s sixth-grade students, asking him to intervene in the ongoing public housing crisis in Cairo. The story is well-known by now.

After years of physical neglect and malfeasance by Alexander County Housing Authority employees, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development took over management of the county housing authority, and a year later, declared the McBride and Elmwood housing complexes in Cairo uninhabitable. That is one fact everyone can agree on. The units were plagued by rodent and insect infestation, lacked adequate heating and had issues with mold.

Recently, lead-contaminated water was added to the litany of horrid conditions residents faced.

The nearly 400 residents of the housing complexes were informed the units would be razed and not rebuilt. The government’s solution: Vouchers for housing in nearby communities.

Not surprisingly, Cairo residents found this “solution” unacceptable. There have been public meetings. The situation drew the attention of state representatives and senators, and Sen. Dick Durbin has recently intervened on behalf of Cairo’s citizens.

Goff’s sixth-grade students did their part, writing heartfelt letters to Carson.

“I don’t want to lose my home,” wrote Pircola Brazil. “We represent Cairo, we are Cairo.”

The students, and the community, got their response this week. Unfortunately, the response isn’t what they wanted to hear.

“Since starting my new job at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington, D.C., the situation in Cairo has become very important to me,” Carson wrote. “I am working with very smart people who want to persevere affordable housing in Cairo.

“Sadly, many of the housing complexes there were built during World War II and have not been well cared for over the years. The problem is even more difficult because the Alexander County Housing Authority, which owns the public housing in Cairo, is facing financial challenges.”

While we commend Carson, and his staff, for the tone of the letter and the quickness behind the response, we disagree with the content.

If Carson is indeed huddling with “very smart people,” they should be able to find a solution.

Carson also wrote to the students, “You are living proof of the old saying, ‘Home is where the heart is.’”

In a letter to school superintendent Andrea Evers, Carson stated, “Relocating people is not something we do without extensive thought, research and candidly, a fair amount of hand-wringing.”

It’s hard to believe that all these “smart people” spent a lot of time fretting, wringing their hands and the best solution they could come up with is, “Our bad, see ya.”

We get it. These are tough times in the United States. There are tough financial decisions to make. The government can’t be everything to everybody.

But, this is different.

The government shares culpability for what happened in Cairo. The government stood by for decades while the buildings deteriorated and public funds disappeared.

The federal budget is $3.65 trillion. In President Trump’s first budget proposal he sought a $54 billion increase in military spending. Conversely, there was a proposed $6 billion cut from HUD.

The federal government undeniably has the duty to keep citizens safe. But, the definition of safe extends beyond fear of foreign attack. The preamble to the constitution charges the government to: "Promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.”

It is that premise that makes Carson’s response unacceptable.