Should Govt Continue to Subsidize Housing?

[Ted Harris]

Robert Shiller raised this question over the weekend in a NY Times article ... he delves into a bit of history of why govt has subsidized housing and his theory why we continue to do so. I tend to agree it's less of an economic decision but a feeling that home-ownership fosters healthy communities. Obviously, this backfired during the housing bubble ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/business/07view.html?bl

[Account Closed]

Personally, I don't think it is a good idea for the federal government to subsidize housing. IMO this is a big part of what got us into this mess.

I think home ownership is a good thing, but I feel it also important that people have skin invested. Homeowners that have invested a down payment are more likely to think twice about a purchase that might be outside of their budget and also will be less likely to just walk away when things get tough.