Homeownership And America S Financial Underclass

Why does America have a love affair with homeownership? For many, buying a home is no longer in their best interest and may harm their children's educational opportunities. This book argues that US leaders need to re-evaluate housing policies and develop new ones that ensure that all Americans have access to affordable housing, whether rented or owned. After describing common myths, the book shows why the circumstances now faced by America's financial underclass make it impossible for them to benefit from homeownership because they cannot afford to buy homes. It then exposes the risks of 'home buying while brown or black,' discussing US policies that made it easier for whites to buy homes, but harder and more costly for blacks and Latinos to do so. The book argues that remaining racial discrimination and certain demographic features continue to make it harder for blacks and Latinos to receive homeownership's promised benefits.

Gary Gerstle provides a sweeping re-interpretation of the entire era - from the revival of market liberalism in the 1970s to the ruin generated by the 2008 global financial crisis - that places America at the center.--

Millions of Americans have lost their homes since the start of the recession initiated by the financial crisis of 2008–09. But is the dream of homeownership for America's working families obsolete, an aspiration from a bygone era? Regaining the Dream rejects that notion and proposes a way to strengthen the financial system while simultaneously promoting an equitable and viable American homeownership policy. For the first time, the authors of Regaining the Dream offer data-driven evidence on how the mortgage industry can serve working families in the United States, pointing the way to a pragmatic housing policy that promotes the opportunity for sustainable homeownership. Taking the reader step by step through the lending crisis and what caused it, the authors include useful and clear definitions of terms heard almost daily in news coverage. And they give a fair account of the history behind Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the new Dodd-Frank law, explaining what remains to be done to uphold one of the defining characteristics of the American dream.

Examines predatory practices in mortgage markets to provide invaluable insight into the racial wealth gap between black and white Americans.

This book is about risk conceptions, experiences and reflections. It applies the concept of the risk triangle, with its societal, organisational and personal angles, to two areas of inquiry: financial markets and the military, seeking to demonstrate the challenges, dilemmas and, in many ways, also the impossibilities of risk analysis and risk management. Drawing on empirical and micro- and macro-level analysis, this innovative work will appeal to students of political science, economics and business as well as to risk professionals and risk-takers.

While Americans often believe that owning a home serves as a tool for building stronger communities and crafting better citizens, this book argues that these long-standing beliefs about the public benefits of homeownership are deeply mischaracterized. As owning a home has emerged as the most important way to build wealth in the United States, it has also reshaped the way citizens become involved in their communities. Rather than engaging as public-spirited stewards of civic life, the book argues that homeowners often engage in local politics as a way to protect their property values. This civic engagement, the book argues, contributes to the politics of exclusion. It keeps particular citizens from gaining access to high-opportunity neighborhoods and reinforces patterns of residential segregation. It often marginalizes renters from participation in public life, and it equates property values with the common good. Through an analysis of the politics of homeownership, this book asks readers to reconsider the power of homeownership to strengthen citizenship and build better communities.--

Fisher and Fox demonstrate how ordinary people experienced the foreclosure crisis and how lenders and public institutions failed to protect them.

In the decade following the housing crisis, Americans remain enthusiastic about the prospect of owning a home. Homeownership is a symbol of status attainment in the United States, and for many Americans, buying a home is the most important financial investment they will ever make. We are deeply committed to an ideology of homeownership that presents homeownership as a tool for building stronger communities and crafting better citizens. However, in No Place Like Home, Brian McCabe argues that such beliefs about the public benefits of homeownership are deeply mischaracterized. As owning a home has emerged as the most important way to build wealth in the United States, it has also reshaped the way citizens become involved in their communities. Rather than engaging as public-spirited stewards of civic life, McCabe demonstrates that homeowners often engage in their communities as a way to protect their property values. This involvement contributes to the politics of exclusion, and prevents particular citizens from gaining access to high-opportunity neighborhoods, thereby reinforcing patterns of residential segregation. A thorough analysis of the politics of homeownership, No Place Like Home prompts readers to reconsider the power of homeownership to strengthen citizenship and build better communities.