Section 8

Photo by Nik on Unsplash

Being a 21st century beneficiary of low-cost Section 8 Housing, I was surprised to see online that the program was actually started in 1937! Yet another gift from Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

I am also kind of chuckling, because I seem to recall that in my Dad’s time, guys who washed out of the Service due to mental breakdowns were referred to as “Section 8.” Not to make fun of mental illness — nobody would ever accuse me of such insensitivity — but just in my own personal case, I will humorously admit that sometimes the realities of this world are just too much for my poor brain to cope with. As demonstrated by Heather Cox Richardson in this piece about ChatGPT’s not being able to believe the true article by G. Elliott Morris about modern American politics:

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/december-9-2025-740?utm_source=podcast-email&publication_id=20533&post_id=181271319&utm_campaign=email-play-on-substack&utm_content=listen_now_button&r=1osmt1&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

So, yeah — put me down as Section 8 for more reasons than one! Even AI was completely stymied by this one.