American dream

Listening to politicians, you'd think that every family should own its home – in fact, that you're not a real American unless you're a homeowner. "If you own something," Mr. Bush once declared, "you have a vital stake in the future of our country." Presumably, then, citizens who live in rented housing, and therefore lack that "vital stake," can't be properly patriotic

"Owning a home lies at the heart of the American dream." So declared President Bush in 2002, introducing his "Homeownership Challenge," a set of policy initiatives that were supposed to sharply increase homeownership, especially for minority groups.

Oops. While homeownership rose as the housing bubble inflated, temporarily giving Mr. Bush something to boast about, it plunged – especially for African-Americans – when the bubble popped.

But here's a question rarely asked, at least in Washington: Why should ever-increasing homeownership be a policy goal? How many people should own homes, anyway?

Today, the percentage of American families owning their own homes is no higher than it was six years ago, and it's a good bet that by the time Mr. Bush leaves the White House, homeownership will be lower than it was when he moved in.