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"My dad was an armchair politician who had a "brilliant solution" to every social ill imaginable and never got off his duff to implement any of his ideas. So he

"My dad was an armchair politician who had a "brilliant solution" to every social ill imaginable and never got off his duff to implement any of his ideas. So he never really got real world feedback concerning which ideas had merit and which were him just blowing smoke up everyone's ass." Part of what I do outside work is help out with housing cooperatives in the UK. We put ordinary not very rich people in charge of their homes. They become the landlord. Targets include < 4% void rent in any year, < 28 days property vacant &c. Real decision making and budget responsibility (landlord liable for repairs) works wonders. You can see people grow taller, and many now have supervisory jobs...

Mz 14y ago
I and my two sons are currently homeless. One of our big complaints about many of the programs intended to help us is the assumption we are incompetent, lack agency, should be "grateful" to a degree that amounts to agreeing to be their bitch, etc. Kudos on being involved with something better than that model.
- keithpeter 14y ago
  UK: housing cooperatives are incorporated as Housing Associations. Many in the Scandinavian countries as well. I thought the values of the coop movement would translate to US quite well (independence, responsibility &c) assuming you are in US. Coops are fully mutual, you can't buy only rent, but there are self build schemes for participant purchase as well. I do envy the rental sector in US. UK has issues with artificially high prices (my opinion) preventing a free market rental sector from emerging.
  - Mz 14y ago
    Last I heard, coop housing has serious barriers in the U.S. I think those barriers are largely rooted in the housing finance infrastrucure born post WWII. The "boys" came home, often had high savings and no kids, "Rosie the Rivetter" was encouraged to quit her job so a man could have it, many women did so quite happily so they could have kids and the fulltime mom thing. Prior to the war, we were deep in The Great Depression and many people moved every thirteen months to take advantage of one free month's rent if you could pay rent in full and on time for twelve months straight. People were doubled up in small homes, etc. Levittowns were born to meet the sudden demand for single family homes. The nation created finance mechanisms to facilitate the birth of these instant suburbs. We are still living with the legacy. It can be extremely difficult to arrange financing for anything other than a single family home.

Mz 14y ago

I and my two sons are currently homeless. One of our big complaints about many of the programs intended to help us is the assumption we are incompetent, lack agency, should be "grateful" to a degree that amounts to agreeing to be their bitch, etc. Kudos on being involved with something better than that model.

keithpeter 14y ago
UK: housing cooperatives are incorporated as Housing Associations. Many in the Scandinavian countries as well. I thought the values of the coop movement would translate to US quite well (independence, responsibility &c) assuming you are in US. Coops are fully mutual, you can't buy only rent, but there are self build schemes for participant purchase as well. I do envy the rental sector in US. UK has issues with artificially high prices (my opinion) preventing a free market rental sector from emerging.
- Mz 14y ago
  Last I heard, coop housing has serious barriers in the U.S. I think those barriers are largely rooted in the housing finance infrastrucure born post WWII. The "boys" came home, often had high savings and no kids, "Rosie the Rivetter" was encouraged to quit her job so a man could have it, many women did so quite happily so they could have kids and the fulltime mom thing. Prior to the war, we were deep in The Great Depression and many people moved every thirteen months to take advantage of one free month's rent if you could pay rent in full and on time for twelve months straight. People were doubled up in small homes, etc. Levittowns were born to meet the sudden demand for single family homes. The nation created finance mechanisms to facilitate the birth of these instant suburbs. We are still living with the legacy. It can be extremely difficult to arrange financing for anything other than a single family home.