I agree that the modern housing market is a lot different than it was at the turn of the century and earlier. And you’re correct that in the modern housing market, most people need bank assistance to secure a home because it’s impractical and unaffordable to build or buy themselves.

But the problem you’re identifying goes way beyond housing. Everything in our society is becoming increasingly unaffordable: healthcare, education, food, raw materials, etc. Most people can’t go to college without getting a loan or get medical care without finding an insurer. Housing is just another over-priced piece of this inflationary puzzle.

I think the bigger picture you’re missing is that housing has become increasingly unaffordable for the same reason that almost everything else in our society has become unaffordable: a debt-based economy is completely unsustainable. It’s a Ponzi scheme that rewards those who get in early and penalizes late-comers. The older you are, the less debt you need to get in to survive in the Ponzi scheme. Note: this isn’t an intrinsic flaw of capitalism; it’s completely possible to have a capitalist system that’s isn’t debt-based, and the U.S. had this model until 100 years ago, when it established the “modern” central banking system that allows private banks to create money out of thin air backed by nothing.

So the root problem isn’t capitalism, but rather how we’re implementing capitalism.

I disagree with the notion that Americans shouldn’t expect to own the roof over their heads. That’s the way most of the world has lived for eons, and it’s allowed those with money and power to retain control over the majority. And their control will only increase if we adopt a “permanent-renter/homeownership for the majority is unrealistic” mindset.

We need to adopt a mindset that demands we have the right to own the most basic element of their survival — the roof over their head — if we work hard enough. That can only happen if we demand that the monetary system be “reset” to one that isn’t debt-based and is more sustainable; a system that isn’t structured like a pyramid scheme that increasingly puts housing, food, energy, and other vital services out of the reach of most people while enriching elites.

Yes, this might require a revolution. It will require us to mobilize. If we can take to the streets for BLM, surely we can get our asses out there to save 99% of Americans.

But we’re never going to start a revolution or a movement if we think human beings don’t have a right to live in a world where they have a chance to own the roof over their head, if we think that owning a home is a “modern” concept that needs to die. If we have that mentality, then we might as well roll over and let the elites eat us. In the world where people are quickly running out of money, being sheltered at the whim of others is a certain path to homelessness.