Karen Duffin

This is Planet Money from NPR.

This is Planet Money from NPR.

This is Planet Money from NPR.

Once upon a time, in a cubicle not so far away, sat a government bureaucrat in his government-issued chair preparing for a very big meeting. It was 1994, and Mark Schroeder was an economist at HUD, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and his team in D.C. had just flown in local public housing authorities from five major cities.

Once upon a time, in a cubicle not so far away, sat a government bureaucrat in his government-issued chair preparing for a very big meeting. It was 1994, and Mark Schroeder was an economist at HUD, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and his team in D.C. had just flown in local public housing authorities from five major cities.

Once upon a time, in a cubicle not so far away, sat a government bureaucrat in his government-issued chair preparing for a very big meeting. It was 1994, and Mark Schroeder was an economist at HUD, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and his team in D.C. had just flown in local public housing authorities from five major cities.

The staff gathers in a basement conference room. It's about 30 people. These are people who run what's now known as the Section 8 Voucher Program, which is a voucher that subsidizes rent for low-income families. It's like a monthly payment to a landlord. Families can wait years on waiting lists just to get one.

The staff gathers in a basement conference room. It's about 30 people. These are people who run what's now known as the Section 8 Voucher Program, which is a voucher that subsidizes rent for low-income families. It's like a monthly payment to a landlord. Families can wait years on waiting lists just to get one.

The staff gathers in a basement conference room. It's about 30 people. These are people who run what's now known as the Section 8 Voucher Program, which is a voucher that subsidizes rent for low-income families. It's like a monthly payment to a landlord. Families can wait years on waiting lists just to get one.

Everyone settles into their chairs, you know, sipping their government-brewed coffee, and the meeting starts. They learn that they are about to join a test program. Small in the scheme of HUD overall, but a huge change. They're going to start handing out a new kind of voucher to a small group of their tenants. And then HUD is going to run an experiment on them.

Everyone settles into their chairs, you know, sipping their government-brewed coffee, and the meeting starts. They learn that they are about to join a test program. Small in the scheme of HUD overall, but a huge change. They're going to start handing out a new kind of voucher to a small group of their tenants. And then HUD is going to run an experiment on them.

Everyone settles into their chairs, you know, sipping their government-brewed coffee, and the meeting starts. They learn that they are about to join a test program. Small in the scheme of HUD overall, but a huge change. They're going to start handing out a new kind of voucher to a small group of their tenants. And then HUD is going to run an experiment on them.

With the old vouchers, people could, at least in theory, move anywhere they wanted. But people who get this new voucher, they are required to use it to move to what HUD calls low-poverty neighborhoods. So just a nicer neighborhood. This is sort of a radical change for HUD.

With the old vouchers, people could, at least in theory, move anywhere they wanted. But people who get this new voucher, they are required to use it to move to what HUD calls low-poverty neighborhoods. So just a nicer neighborhood. This is sort of a radical change for HUD.

With the old vouchers, people could, at least in theory, move anywhere they wanted. But people who get this new voucher, they are required to use it to move to what HUD calls low-poverty neighborhoods. So just a nicer neighborhood. This is sort of a radical change for HUD.

Unlimited in theory, at least. But what the majority of tenants have chosen was to use the vouchers to stay in high-poverty neighborhoods for a lot of complicated reasons, including discrimination. Landlords often refuse to take Section 8 tenants. So back in the basement at HUD, as this big new idea gets introduced—

Unlimited in theory, at least. But what the majority of tenants have chosen was to use the vouchers to stay in high-poverty neighborhoods for a lot of complicated reasons, including discrimination. Landlords often refuse to take Section 8 tenants. So back in the basement at HUD, as this big new idea gets introduced—

Unlimited in theory, at least. But what the majority of tenants have chosen was to use the vouchers to stay in high-poverty neighborhoods for a lot of complicated reasons, including discrimination. Landlords often refuse to take Section 8 tenants. So back in the basement at HUD, as this big new idea gets introduced—

I imagine people, you know, put down their government brewed coffee and start raising their hands. Like, why are we doing this? Our job is to move people into housing, period. Now HUD is basically asking them to reverse that, to move people out.

I imagine people, you know, put down their government brewed coffee and start raising their hands. Like, why are we doing this? Our job is to move people into housing, period. Now HUD is basically asking them to reverse that, to move people out.