ABSTRACT
Several federal policies have contributed to high rates of homeownership among American seniors. Since the first Homestead Act permitted Americans to apply for land grants in 1862, U.S. policies have marketed homeownership as a critical aspect of American identity. Homeownership represents an essential component of the American Dream and has been viewed as “good politics” and “an important goal of public policy” (Rohe and Watson, 2007, p. 5). This notion of “good politics” results from the idea that homeownership promotes wage labor, stimulates growth of economic markets, and expands social power (Kemeny, 1981; Ball, 1986; Berry, 1986; Marcuse, 1987; Ronald, 2008). The U.S. Department of Commerce (1921) even encouraged children to save money for future home purchase, marketing homeownership as “the stepping stone to advancement and happiness” (p. 9).
