This most recent incarnation of Section 8 is specifically aimed at a group of our society that has een neglected in the past, carrying on in the spirit of subsidizing housing costs for families with low economic resources that are currently unable to purchase homes.

As for the basic details of the program, a large portion of the fund, 75%, will go to those most in need of affordable housing: those whose incomes are 30% or lower than the state median income level or 30% below the national poverty line.

There is more reason to celebrate for those that champion these efforts. The housing coalition has stated that 90% of the fund will be dedicated to create, preserve, rehabilitate, and operate existing housing units currently in rental market. Furthermore, the remaining 10% will be allocated for first-time home purchases. Such assistance will go towards down payments and closing costs.

The origination of the fund will be based on loans obtained by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two of the largest mortgage lenders which are chartered by the Federal government. These two mortgage giants will be contributing to the fund based on a percentage of their loan volume. Using their calculation method, if the bill had been enacted last year, the fund would have been endowed with nearly half a billion dollars! Before you get too excited, be advised that eligible disbursements will not be available until 2010.

These developments, which has received resounding cries of support from social services groups across the nation, comes in the wake of the most devastating and pervasive housing crisis in recent memory. Many claim that the need for affordable housing and similar programs has always been needed, and those programs already in place have done little to meet those needs. In its formal structure, the funds will be funneled through state governments to the tune of $3 million annually, at minimum. There remains more work in designing the actual disbursement calculations to each state, which will likely be based on population needs, and states' ability to manage the additional housing units with infrastructure and capacity. Fortunately, the disbursement process is likely to be smooth as the funds will not be passing through Congress' annual appropriations bureaucracy.

The segment of the population the fund is created to reach will reap the benefit of this sustained stream of available capital. And yet, detractors are already rearing their defiant heads. These groups claim that such a measure only reinforces the notion and escalates the impending recession.

Their argument hinges on the view that while such efforts to alleviate housing concerns are meritorious, Congress should fund such efforts like other social programs in its appropriations, not levying taxes on institutions that serve the private sector. This is an especially worthy argument in light of the recent trouble Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been experiencing and the government's impending bail-out of their struggling business.

While other housing programs brought by the various housing agencies have sought to lighten the housing load for America's poor, this trust fund is designed to reach the most disparate of our country, which sets it apart from past programs. Those cities and regions that have been historically neglected or have seen only a small segment of the available assistance will be served. Portions of the housing created will be set aside for these communities.

Unlike Section 8, which has the inverse effect on low-income renters of creating a greater demand for subsidized housing, this bill will approach the supply side of the equation. Construction will be planned for the expressed intent of serving blighted communities.

There will likely be a great tumult in the mixed backgrounds that will be represented throughout these new housing developments, mixing those of limited resources to those that are making a more comfortable living. It will be interesting to see the effect of such a mix on tangible financial measures like property values. Perhaps these compromises will be negated by the enriched cultural mixing. We have only the future to behold.