Dive summary:

• Using government resources to produce affordable housing fails on a number of fronts, Dr. Robert Lerman of the Urban Institute and American University, argues, and the money would be better spent trying to help people raise their incomes.
• Developers generally sell their housing tax subsidies to investors at a discount, so as much of 30% of the buying power of them disappears, and what housing does get built for lease often goes at rents in the bottom end of the market range.
• If the government changed from subsidies to builders to rent vouchers for families, it could cut its cost by 20% or spread it more wisely, and gearing such a program toward home ownership would accomplish even more, Lerman contends.

From the article:

The issue is hardly academic—today, 30 percent or fewer households eligible for housing subsidies actually receive one. ...