America is so over homeownership: Why the shift to a renting economy might actually be a good thing

SALON ^ | 08/30/2014 | HENRY GRABAR

[lurk]

Right. So if a population has no savings or investments, we can ensure that the third leg of the stool, equity, is also non-existent.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

See, you rubes don't need 3,000+ sq ft homes out in the suburbs and county/parish roads wasting water and trying to grow vegetables so you can can them into Mason jars.

You need to live in densely packed cities, in high-rises so we can control your ass!

[Regulator]

Next up, "Why Debt Peonage is Good For You"

Signed, the Obama Administration and the Soros Project

[a fool in paradise]

The American Dream was overrated anyway... < /sarc >

[ConorMacNessa]

And given a few more years of the current Regime, we'll all live in rental properties Gulags.

America demands Justice for the Fallen of Benghazi!

O stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians that we lie here, obedient to their command.

Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The LORD hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. (Isaiah 49:1 KJV)

[BenLurkin]

So Salon thinks that financial independence is undesirable.

Somehow I’m not surprised.

[JimSEA]

Actually, we need faceless, cold apartment buildings controlled by the government who allots them out, first to good party members and then to others. See how welcoming and warm the will be by referencing North Korea, Russia and other workers paradises.

[manc]

aye forget about the kids which you have, and they can inherit or live there , forget about having your own place. The American dream is now obamas dream which is to rent and never own

[anymouse]

And how many of those “rentals” are Section 8 government subsidized? You can probably trace a direct correlation between growth of Section 8 housing and flight of home owners out of particular communities. Good luck on getting those stats from the government though.

[GeronL]

The Obama’s promised to destroy the American dream and succeeded

[GeronL]

or as Michele Obama called it “middle-classism”

[GOPJ]

Liberal elites gush over renting... and a ‘brown’ county... and not having ‘stuff’. It’s a fashion statement. Kind of like being ‘groovy’ was to the sixties. Shallow and ‘in’... superficial and silly... very ‘salon’.

[the_Watchman]

Landlords can be demonized and taxed. Prop 13 in California wiping out a huge tax base would not have succeeded in a rental economy.

Tenants can be gifted with rent controls.

[TexasGator]

My 3100 sf home was the smallest in the neighborhood

[Billthedrill]

The deep thinkers at Salon are ahead of the curve here. Somebody has to own these rentals, and if that's a private individual you have a heartless, money-grubbing capitalist slumlord squeezing the lifeblood out of the oppressed masses. On the other hand, if it's the government, you have a barracks. Your choice.

[Gay State Conservative]

People care for homes they own...they don’t care for homes they rent.It’s that simple.Home ownership has been one of the main driving forces of prosperity here for 60+ years.

[vpintheak]

What a pant load. People aren’t buying because their credit is bad or non-existent, and they can’t afford downpayments. And they can’t count on keeping a job more than a year.

[SeekAndFind]

Well, with all of those combined credit and salary problems, how can they even afford to rent anything? What landlord will even consider them as tenants?

[Pappy Smear]

94% of the domiciles in my town are owner-occupied. I am sure it is no coincidence that my town has the lowest crime rate in our county as well. We are not some rich suburb either. I'm guessing the median home price is around $130,000.

Home owners are stable, and less likely to vandalize, steal, rob, and do other stupid stuff.