HARM

Home Ownership: The Ideal That Refuses to Die

"The last thing we need right now is a resurgence in homeownership."

Uhhh.. point taken, but I think what you mean here is the ILLUSION of homeownership. If you take out a 107% LTV NINJA loan, you "own" *nothing*. In fact, you very likely owe more than the place is worth, as 16% of the country now does --and rising.

In any case, based on the personal testimonials published daily in the local RE propaganda rags (known as "newspapers"), it seems that (_gasp_) RENTING is a fate WORSE THAN DEATH for some people. Many FBs seem to feel that paying 3X rent for the same damned house is far preferable to renting and thus becoming an Untouchable / social leper.