JD - I don't doubt that you do; all it takes is plastic, a Walmart..and there's your TV;
but my experience has been different. I monitor 45 assisted rental properties in a south shore community on an annual basis for housing code and tenant income and asset compliance. Most of these folks live a modest lifestyle. Believe me when I tell you that the review process and determination of eligibility for these programs is very thorough. Do people slip through..of course..hopefully not on my watch
I have caught people trying to scam the system and 99% of those people have been middle income suburban homeowners not assisted renters. In addition, we have found that properties not on public transportation tend to be occupied more by moderate income familes than low income, with the primary reason being that they haven't saved up enough for the BMW ;-) yet and have to rely on the train.
The original subject of this thread urban/sub/rural elec. breakdown when viewed from a public policy perspective is an interesting study. MA currently has a 10% goal of affordable housing in every community. Communities with less are subject to override of existing zoning for affordable developments under Chpt. 40B "anti snob zoning" legislation.(and to pre-empt any response..yes I agree it's a developer abused program!) One of the idea's behind this is to provide housing for "local" lower income persons and also to eliminate concentration of lower income housing and families in urban areas. However, in the past 8 years federal housing policy has been to reduce rental assistance and promote homeownership. (we all know what a trainwreck this has caused). This has been a factor in suburban property values and rents going through the ceiling, restricting many lower income families to urban areas. If the republican admin. promotes housing & social policies that don't favor me am I going to vote for them or the Dem's?