The problem with owning a home in the United States, and it's relation to restrictive zoning, is that it's such a valuable asset. I'd wager the true price of ho

The problem with owning a home in the United States, and it's relation to restrictive zoning, is that it's such a valuable asset. I'd wager the true price of home ownership is not reflected in property taxes, assessments, or retail price. In many areas the access to a school district and the expected lifetime earnings of a child who attends that district is worth more than the median home in the district. Ownership allows access to powerful neighborhood associations to wield and maintain the status quo. I commend recent efforts by local and state legislators to eliminate single family zoning, however we have a long way to go to decouple public education and home ownership. It's not simply about funding either -- many urban school districts have great funding per student but still lack in comparison to the suburbs in terms of class size, arguably the most important metric when considering schools.