The nation’s housing boom comes with great losses in affordability, according to a recent report from Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. The study found that half the nation’s low-income residents are paying more than 50 percent of their income on housing, as are one quarter of single mothers, and one fifth of the elderly. Government programs, meanwhile, do not come close to meeting current needs and are on the decline. Despite the expected growth of minimum-wage jobs, the report predicts a continued expansion of middle- and upper-income housing stock, and a decline in low-income housing. [06/21/04]