Mass. Lt. Gov. (R) tells Senior citizens: "Move out of your houses!" [View All]

[Bluebear]

Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey interrupted a vacation to answer some tough questions about comments made about senior housing.

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that Healey came under fire after suggesting that senior citizens were contributing to the state's housing crunch by staying in suburban homes instead of moving to cities or town centers.

In an interview with the Statehouse News Service published Monday, Healy said: "My opinion is that to extend tax breaks to seniors in order to keep them overhoused and isolated in the suburbs is not necessarily the right answer ... they're probably aging in homes that are too expensive or difficult for them to maintain and where the property taxes are larger than their fixed incomes. Plus, they may have three or four bedrooms and only be using one of them. There are families that need that housing."

On Tuesday, Healey would not directly address the quote or its accuracy.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ibsys/20050323/lo_WCVB/2638853