- In America, the mortgage interest deduction (MID) was implemented in 1913 to let businesses deduct mortgage payments from taxes.
- At the time, most Americans were renters and only the wealthy paid income taxes (income tax became mandatory for all in 1932).
- By the 1950s, the government started subsidizing homeownership (Fannie/Freddie insuring mortgages, GI Bill), but non-whites weren’t included (Jim Crow, redlining).
- The systematic denial of mortgages and home price appreciation caused the current racial wealth gap.
How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality
(05/09/2017)
