Someone is saying it out loud!
The shocking truth: not everyone should own a house.
Robert Samuelson, in the Washington Post.
Unfortunately, we let a sensible goal become a foolish fetish. Not everyone can become a homeowner. Some are too young and footloose; some are too old and dependent; some are too poor or irresponsible. Some don’t want a home. Even with these gaps, homeownership is virtually universal among the middle-aged middle class: almost three-quarters of Americans ages 45 to 54 and four-fifths ages 55 to 64.
Government subsidizes homeownership in two ways: through tax and spending policies and through credit markets. Tax breaks for homeowners (mainly the deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes, plus preferential treatment of capital gains on homes) exceeded $120 billion in 2009, reports the Congressional Budget Office. These benefits go heavily to higher-income borrowers, who are encouraged to buy bigger and more expensive homes that generate larger tax savings. This is both unfair and unnecessary. By contrast, government subsidies for lower-income renters are skimpier, totaling about 25 percent of the support for homeowners.
Let’s hear it for Mr. Samuelson. I never did understand why people with far lower incomes than mine were expected to subsidize my mortgage (you bet I claimed the interest deduction) or why I am expected to subsidize someone’s McMansion.
Overall, idea that owner occupancy is always a good thing just doesn’t make sense. Anyone who has ever walked into a crap house poorly maintained by owner-occupants who clearly have no idea about what they are doing can tell you that home ownership can be a very, very bad idea.


Bud Selig
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010No matter what you think of him as a baseball team owner or baseball commissioner, or what you think of that statue, it’s just impossible to make Bud Selig look heroic.
It just is.
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