interesting argument; here’s the crux of it, for those of you who don’t have the time to read it all:

In plain terms, as writer Jerusalem Demsas puts it, “Homeownership works for some because it cannot work for all.” The wealthy and wealthier buy and sell in the housing market—while pushing the burden of ever-higher costs onto the ownership-ineligible working class through rising rents.

[…]there is well-documented evidence of the environmental and social ills that homeownership’s progeny—suburban sprawl—wreaks on our country and environment, perhaps best illustrated by a recent poll that found Americans prefer living in a community where “houses are larger and farther apart,” even if amenities are farther away, and thus likely only accessible by car.

Rather than increase homeownership in the United States, we need to broaden pathways to long-term economic security that do not require it. Envision a renters’ system that encourages long-term financial security, location mobility for work and play, and socially oriented values of shared ownership, environmental protection, and community.