American values: home ownership

Today, we continue our week-long series on American values with an examination of land and home ownership. The desire to own land ? dating back to the notion of ?Manifest Destiny,? as newly-minted Americans spread west across the continent ? has always been considered a fundamental American value. How has our government and culture reinforced this value? And is it still as important to our identity as Americans as it was in the days when our motto was ?Go West, Young Man??

Beth Kobliner, Takeaway contributor and appointee to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, shares history and hard numbers to help us better understand the American value of home ownership.