Saturday, June 28, 2008

The Weekly Poll Is Up

This week's poll is up in the top left corner of the page. You know the spot.

We're only a week away from the 4th of July and I thought it would be a good time to look at home ownership as a part of the American dream. As recently as 2002, President Bush was quoted as saying, “Owning a home lies at the heart of the American dream." But a lot has happened in the last 6 years that might make some people think otherwise.

There was an interesting op-ed on the subject recently in the New York Times in which the author claimed that the idea of home ownership is so ingrained in us as a nation, it even affects our policy making and causes us to look at renters as second-class citizens. The author goes on to say that we need to "drop our obsession with homeownership and try to level the playing field that, at the moment, is hugely tilted against renting."

Whether or not we are truly obsessed, there are still plenty of people, myself included, who still think the benefits of homeownership outweigh the downsides.

So what do you think? Is home ownership something you consider as American as baseball and apple pie? Are Americans too obsessed with the idea of owning a home? Will all of the chaos in the housing market start to change our perception of renting vs. owning? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

And hey - have a safe and happy 4th of July!

0 comments: