Folks up in Watauga County are supposed to get excited about acquiring as much as possible of $22 million from the federal deficit going to North Carolina for rental assistance. (Not to give anybody any ideas, but the Supreme Court would probably rule that Congress is justified because evicted people may move to other states, influencing interstate commerce.)
Down here in Region B, which corresponds somewhat with the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area, the federal government is availing something even more twenty-first-century. In what appears to be a fabulous display of government blowing smoke and money out its ears, the USDA gave the Asheville Land of Sky Regional Council $50,700:
to provide resources to help train and bolster the work of local organizations that offer housing support to those in need. The grant will allow Land-of-Sky to provide training and technical aid such as financial planning, strategic planning, and sustainability.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said:
These funds . . . will serve as investments that will help organizations build the capacity [read “grow government”] and expertise of local nonprofit groups.
