The first radical approach to solving housing problems in the U.S. might focus on its status as a commodity. Every problem discussed in this book has at its root the commodification of housing in America. Housing is less affordable to the average American than it was in the past because relative housing prices have increased, largely due to speculation in the housing market and the increasing popularity of housing as a financial investment. Meanwhile, the affordable housing market shrinks, because low-income housing is essentially unprofitable for private developers, and we refuse to build more public housing. Decreasing housing affordability has led to an uptick in homelessness in pricey markets, while the development and protection of valuable urban real estate has led to criminalizing the homeless. Indeed, our government pursued public housing as an affordable housing strategy only because it was linked to downtown real estate development, and we became concerned about the homeless as a class of people only when Skid Rows threatened to overtake valuable urban real estate. And localities often use zoning to both prohibit affordable housing and to enable suburban sprawl in efforts to boost property values, regardless of the negative impacts. Finally, and perhaps most clearly, housing’s status as a commodity to be bought, sold, traded, and profited from created a massive global economic collapse.
Thus, one radical approach to solving many of the housing problems discussed in this book is to begin to decommodify housing in the U.S. There are at least two ways to begin to do this. The first is to incentivize social ownership of housing in housing cooperatives, community land trusts, and other forms, such that they constitute a significant portion of the housing market. Pooling ownership of housing allows cooperatives to keep costs down and retain affordability for generations. Low-income and limited-equity cooperatives offer some of the most high-quality and affordable housing in the U.S. and have the added advantage of helping households accrue wealth. Cooperative housing gaining a foothold in the overall housing market would make the availability of affordable housing less dependent on wild fluctuations in property values and lending markets, and it could keep private housing prices at more affordable levels. If enough cooperatives existed in a diverse set of high-quality neighborhoods, incentivizing social ownership would go a long way toward solving the affordability, segregation, and homeownership/home financing problems in the U.S.
Another approach to decommodifying the housing market is to reshape tax laws dramatically, so that there is little incentive to speculate in the housing market. U.S. tax policy fosters speculation in housing values: housing sales prices are exempt from capital gains taxes, encouraging speculative investment in real estate that can artificially inflate housing prices. Abolishing or limiting this exemption would remove one speculation incentive. In addition, abolishing the mortgage interest and property tax deductions in the tax code would force us to consider housing more of a social good than an opportunity for profit. In lieu of abolishing the tax deductions, they could be limited such that they do not continue to benefit high-income homeowners disproportionately. Proposals include capping the mortgage loan amount on which homeowners can deduct interest, offering a one-time-only credit for first-time homebuyers, and limiting deductions to primary residencies (McCabe 2016). Abolishing or reforming tax deductions for homeowners would also have the advantage of limiting subsidies for housing sprawl. The goal of these more radical approaches to decommodify housing is to ensure housing security and availability, treating housing as a social good rather than an avenue for profit (Stone 2006).
See also Stone, Michael E. 2006. “Housing Affordability: One-Third of a Nation Shelter-Poor.” In R. G. Bratt, M. E. Stone, and C. Hartman, eds, A Right to Housing: Foundation for a New Social Agenda, pp. 38–60. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
turnnoffyourmind
discoholicmusic
pixelskylines
yousharknotpass
areudirty
kaledo-art
ellievsbear
