I also agree that when the middle class erodes to the point that asset ownership falls below 50% is when things get, uhh, interesting.
When one gets right down to it, ownership is a too strong stuff. Total Control for eternity which is then sold in finite time in practice? Woah there, why so many infinities? "Rent" has a bad rep, but the problems of rent have to do with it being backstopped by ownship --- i.e. private landlords. "Rent all the way down" is good and conceptually simpler as their are no crazy cancelling out infinitis or whatnot. It's a system of flows that more accurate tracks how the "real economy" works.
Of course, it is important there is still leverage, futures markets, etc. etc. of various sorts to push along history, but full ownership is too much a sledgehammer.
Prop 13 merely puts the silliness in sharper relief.
Sounds like a great way to force everyone except the wealthy elite into poverty cycles. Maybe there is a reason that those countries that implement what you are talking about (no property ownership) are locked in either perpetual poverty or perpetual war against their own citizens.
Doing away with property ownership is a great way to join the ranks of the third world.
I don't know why some people consider themselves "owners" of assets the bank actually owns, but it's normal in the USA.
Again what matters is net worth, not whether you house is paid off.
That 29% is a huge chunk of people; to put things in perspective US presidents win elections with a lower percentage of support from the population.
> I don't know why some people consider themselves "owners" of assets the bank actually owns, but it's normal in the USA.
Because they actually have equity in that asset, and that equity might be the majority? For example, they bought the house for $500k, then ten years later they owe $350k but the realisable value of the house is $800k. If the house is turned into cash, they own more of the cash than the bank does.
Also, because there is a clear path to ownership[1]? You aren't at the whim of the landlord - upgrade (or not) your property whichever way you feel is best with very little interference from the actual "owner" (i.e. the bank). If you have complete say in how an asset is used, and when it will be disposed off, and who may use it, that sure looks like ownership to me.
My residence, for example, will, at the current trajectory, be completely paid off in 24 months or less. My monthly costs drop dramatically at that point, which can be the major goal when "buying" property.