The Politics Of Home-Ownership
--And Housing Trends Over Time

"During the 1940-1960 period... home ownership in America rose by over 18 percentage points, from 43.6% in 1940 to 61.9% percent by 1960."

-Statistical Reference Link

And while numerous factors go into this mind boggling statistic; population growth, the availability of building supplies, the size of the labor force, college graduation rates, etc etc... it is no secret today, that in America different periods of history have been, "more financially bountiful," than others.

In fact;

"As of May 27, 2024 the Federal Reserve estimates that around 18% of US households, or about 23.7 million US households, are currently millionaires."

-Statistical Reference Link

But let's take a moment to compare those numbers.

So home-ownership in America was around 43.6% in 1940 and 61.9% in 1960. Then, in 2019 home-ownership in America was said to be around 64% by the US Census Bureau. However, in 1920 home-ownership in America was said to be approximately 45%, also according to the US Census Bureau. Yet, similarly, the percentage of millionaires in America has also fluctuated quite a bit over the past century. As stated above, today America boasts 18% or 23.7 million individuals who call themselves, "millionaires," based upon US currency. However, yet again, in 1920 income tax records show that;

"The income-tax records now show us that in 1925, there were 207 Americans with annual incomes of more than $1 million each. There was also at least one genuine billionaire and ten corporations that were undoubtedly in the billion-dollar class."

-Statistical Reference Link

And here's a brief timeline from Google, pertaining to this data;

"1850: The US had 19 millionaires.
1890s: The number of millionaires in the US increased to over 4,000.
1900: The US had around 4,000 millionaires.
1980: The US had around 500,000 millionaires.
1987: One estimate put the number of millionaires at 1.2 million.
1990: The IRS reported that the number of taxpayers with more than $1 million in adjusted gross income increased to 63,642.
1995: The IRS reported that the number of people with a net worth of at least $1 million increased to almost 1.6 million.
2020: Statista reported that 6.98 million people in North America had financial assets worth at least $1 million."

-Statistical Reference Link

And from Quora.com;

"There were 17,000 millionaires in 1950 but a million dollars was worth 7 million today."

-Anonymous source / Oct 31, 2021

And while all of this information is sourced online (*and some of it is directly from US government websites --HUD and The Census Bureau) it's hardly, "fake news," for us to say that both the numbers of home-owner's and the % of millionaire's in America today has substantially risen both by quantity and percentage, since 1950. Or in other words, "times have changed."

However, and without reaching for an immediate judgment and without pointing blame or initiating a political disagreement/conflict regarding these statistics... it's of NO ARGUMENT WHATSOEVER... that these numbers have essentially CHANGED over time. Or in other words, more people today per capita and in terms of quantity both own a home and enjoy, "millionaire status," than did so 50-100 years ago. And whatever your opinion of, "wealth," and the finances of, "success," there is no disputing that more people are successful today and enjoy the privilege of owning a home within America today, than did so in the 1950's, 1940's, 1930's, 1920's and in all decades before that, since America's inception in 1776.

But in Ancient Egypt it was reading/literacy... before money was, "invented." Or in other words, in Ancient Egypt literacy rates... were the strongest indicator of success/class, within Ancient Egyptian society, from my understanding. Whereby, in Ancient Egypt it was often lored that 10% of the population was to be, "literate," at all times and only 10%. Similarly, in Ancient Persia 10,000 soldiers comprised the elite military group, "The Immortals," and exactly 10,000 soldiers would always be involved in this elite military sect, in Ancient Persia. Point being, exclusivity, success, class, finances, these things have historically been political points of tension... amounting to conflicts involving topics such as; political acension, political hierarchy's, sexual hierarchy's, inheritance and succession to power in general, since the beginning of organized society. Or to put this idea more simply, the concept of a, "fixed upper class," is not new to politics, it's a practice of exclusivity dating back to Ancient Egypt and in modern times that is simply taking place through finances.

Regardless, the overall point of this data is to show that the level of exclusivity, in terms of both home-ownership and individual spending power (*2 key metrics in terms of individual freedom) has changed over time, with many more individuals today experiencing that level of individual spending power and home ownership than 50-100 years ago.

But can those trends change, again?

I have no idea.

-William Larsen, Founder, Civilians News