4 ms·

I think with appropriate legal protections against default, seizure, etc. it might be worth it. Pride-of-ownership is pretty powerful.

by jonah 12y ago

mindslight 12y ago
What specifically are you proposing? Our entire economy is kept going at its current rate only by the sheer majority of people being forced into make-work jobs so they can pay rent for a piece of land to sleep on. My point is that unless you think it good to create a second class of citizen that gets conditional freebies for jumping through government hoops, then the underlying treadmill that everyone is on needs to be remedied first.
- jonah 12y ago
  I agree the current situation is a mess. My comment relates to an idea I heard recently and really liked. Essentially it advocated subsiding mortgages instead of rent for the classes of people who can't do it on their own. That way, they're building equity and have something to call their own. In addition, we'd need to provide some additional protections from foreclosure, etc. commensurate with their need. Stability is a key factor to being to climb out of the hole.
  - mindslight 12y ago
    Subsidizing mortgages will just cause them to go up - property "valuations" are only limited by the carrying cost of the loan. Honestly I think this is why California prices are so astronomically high - there are no heating bills in the winter to distract from mortgage payments. > commensurate with their need If satisfying government hoops is a requirement, you turn that into their primary job. And thats a dead end for respectability. > Stability is a key factor to being to climb out of the hole For many people, there is no discrete "hole" - their existence in an area is simply not economically viable. I don't state this harshly because I wish to cast them off, but because I wish to illustrate that putting a bandage on their individual situation still leaves the underlying treadmill that we're all on. (And yes, life itself is a treadmill as well - living isn't free. But tally up the costs of necessities such as food/water/shelter, and compare to the man-made rent to have a place to put that shelter)

I think with appropriate legal protections against default, seizure, etc. it might be worth it. Pride-of-ownership is pretty powerful.

by jonah 12y ago

I think with appropriate legal protections against default, seizure, etc. it might be worth it. Pride-of-ownership is pretty powerful.

mindslight 12y ago

What specifically are you proposing? Our entire economy is kept going at its current rate only by the sheer majority of people being forced into make-work jobs so they can pay rent for a piece of land to sleep on. My point is that unless you think it good to create a second class of citizen that gets conditional freebies for jumping through government hoops, then the underlying treadmill that everyone is on needs to be remedied first.

jonah 12y ago
I agree the current situation is a mess. My comment relates to an idea I heard recently and really liked. Essentially it advocated subsiding mortgages instead of rent for the classes of people who can't do it on their own. That way, they're building equity and have something to call their own. In addition, we'd need to provide some additional protections from foreclosure, etc. commensurate with their need. Stability is a key factor to being to climb out of the hole.
- mindslight 12y ago
  Subsidizing mortgages will just cause them to go up - property "valuations" are only limited by the carrying cost of the loan. Honestly I think this is why California prices are so astronomically high - there are no heating bills in the winter to distract from mortgage payments. > commensurate with their need If satisfying government hoops is a requirement, you turn that into their primary job. And thats a dead end for respectability. > Stability is a key factor to being to climb out of the hole For many people, there is no discrete "hole" - their existence in an area is simply not economically viable. I don't state this harshly because I wish to cast them off, but because I wish to illustrate that putting a bandage on their individual situation still leaves the underlying treadmill that we're all on. (And yes, life itself is a treadmill as well - living isn't free. But tally up the costs of necessities such as food/water/shelter, and compare to the man-made rent to have a place to put that shelter)