Feel good Habitat

This article from the Weekly Standard is a damning explanation of Habitat for Humanity's modes of operation. The first surprising assertion is that the houses built are not given to the people they are meant to help; rather, they are sold and the inhabitants must pay off the mortgages. This gives H for H an incentive to provide for people who are financially stable enough to keep from defaulting on the mortgages and the deal enables them to have right of first refusal at the original price...essentially preventing the inhabitants from making any profit on their home unless they have paid off the entire mortgage.

The final analysis includes a cynical assesment of the state of volunteerism in the country: "Feeling good and feeling right--and that's more valuable to a lot of Americans than the work they're actually volunteering to do."