"Housing a Human Right"

[johnsmith]

Just read an article on Yahoo saying that one of the signs at the Obama speech in New Orleans read: "Housing is a Human Right"........I'm not sure I agree with this........your thoughts?

[Spurminator]

Depends.

We do have property laws in this country that prevent people from just shacking up wherever they see fit. So since the system places limits on what kind of housing one can make for himself, it makes since for the system to provide a minimally sufficient alternative.

That's probably not what the protester you're referencing expects, though.

[boutons_deux]

All industrial countries have public housing because they realize that people on the bottom of society will never be self-sufficient. Having these people in public housing is cheaper and far better for society than if the people were living in the woods, in tents, under bridges, on sidewalks, unable to work even shitty jobs, get clean to go to school, becoming diseased and a huge burden on the public-financed health system.

Is public housing abused? Yes, it's a human activity. But that's nothing like the abuse and rigging of society from corps, capitalists, bankers.

In way, public housing is a right of the upper 90% not to be affected even more by the bottom 10%.