Summary: Vulnerability And Insecurity In The Housing Crisis

The article “Property and Identity: Vulnerability and Insecurity in the Housing Crisis,” purpose is to examine the connection between how owning property relates to your economic status and well-being. The article explains that in life, society judges individuals and their families by what they have and compares it to their own. People tend to have many belongings to feel superior about their self, even when they can’t necessarily afford them. Much of the American people feel that owning a home along with other items is the way of our culture. Sadly, during the housing crisis many families felt overwhelmed and stressed about their conditions, leading homeownership to be an uncertain deal. Policymakers work to balance achieving steady and worthy

Researchers found that homeowners were borrowing money from their home equity and didn’t have any money saved after the housing crisis to afford to pay for items that they couldn’t necessarily afford to keep their identity. When families began to loose their belongings homeowner started to understand that what they have is more important to them than what they could have. The author explains that society continues to consume and forgets to think about the environmental consequences. “The United States is the second highest emitter of carbon and accounts for nearly one-fourth of the world’s greenhouse gases with only five percent of the world’s population (Davidson, 2012, p 7).” The article finds that renting instead of owning could be beneficial because of the lesser loss if a housing crisis occurs. Housing policies and laws may also not be as helpful for when events like this happen. The author’s conclusion about what was found is that people will continue to think of the American culture as owning possession will lead to a families property and identity, but families and homeowners can also weigh their options and choices and change their ways of living. The next steps to follow are to think about what you are purchasing and the future before you making a consumer decision. If you are thinking about purchasing a home single family home, you may what to look into renting. It may in the long run pay off. It’s also important that legal systems and policymakers look into more that they can do to help families during a crisis and policies to prevent certain