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Some High-Income Texans Are Living in Public Housing

Images Money/flickr
A recent United States Department of Housing and Urban Development audit found discrepancies in the public housing program.

From Texas Standard: In Olney, Texas, a family earns $227,709 — but they also receive taxpayer subsidies for rent. A new federal Department of Housing and Urban Development audit finds that 41 percent of families in public housing are making $10,000 more than the income cap.

Alexa Ura covers politics and demographics for The Texas Tribune. She says more than a thousand Texas families are overqualified for the program.

"Because the families only have to have the qualifying limit when they apply, once their income gets over that limit, they can remain in housing, and that's what we're seeing across the state," Ura says.

View more on Texas Standard.

Rhonda joined KUT in late 2013 as producer for the station's new daily news program, Texas Standard. Rhonda will forever be known as the answer to the trivia question, “Who was the first full-time hire for The Texas Standard?” She’s an Iowa native who got her start in public radio at WFSU in Tallahassee, while getting her Master's Degree in Library Science at Florida State University. Prior to joining KUT and The Texas Standard, Rhonda was a producer for Wisconsin Public Radio.
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