When it comes right down to it, housing is one of the most important social issues of ours or any time. The ability of a family, or of any individual, to have a roof overhead, a place to call home, is an indispensable component of an industrious, progressive society. It could be fairly argued that the right to a home is one of those “inalienable rights” that our nation, and the enlightened countries of the world that have participated in the crafting of the seminal documents of the United Nations, ought to affirm along with others spelled out in the U.S. Bill of Rights. Our democracy has evolved to embrace the right of all individuals to a free, public education, to equal justice under law and a fair and impartial trial, and care and security in old age. At key points in our history, the critical importance of accessible housing for all, at least in principle, has also been affirmed, such as following World War II, when federal aid for GIs and others recovering from the ravages of the Great Depression and war responded to a desperate need.
