cuicocha t1_it8nll1 wrote on October 21, 2022 at 7:02 PM

Reply to comment by Echo127 in Many countries have a "hidden welfare state" for incumbent homeowners, as governments subsidize homeowners through the tax system. The homeownership welfare state is strongest in the US and other Anglophone countries, but weakest in the Scandinavian countries. by smurfyjenkins

I don't see why you'd say that. Renting is just paying the landlord for their service of giving you housing...just like you pay the grocery store for the service of giving you food, or pay the clothing store for the service of giving you clothes. Not everyone needs to own a farm; it's ok to pay someone else for food, and it avoids having to tie up a huge amount of wealth in a farm. Not everyone needs to own a home; it's ok to pay someone else for housing, and it avoids having to tie up a huge amount of wealth in a home. It's a personal decision, where for a lot of people (especially people who move a lot, or don't like being responsible for home maintenance, or just want a small place that doesn't cost much) buying a house makes no sense at all.

If your argument involves the phrase "building equity", having your equity tied up in a house means you can't put it in the stock market (where it would probably do as well or better than a house) or even a business. There are lots of ways to invest money and a home is not necessarily the best.