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Heartlander I completely agree with you; these problems are sadly prevalent in many countries as well. There was a time a few decades ago, when there was a boom in land and housing development. Suddenly, buildings were sprouting everywhere, and banks and real estate were the businesses that gained the most from this. But then the big bubble burst and the world's economy crashed. Who took advantage of this? The extremely rich people. They could afford to buy as many properties as they wanted because prices were lowered and they hoarded them to sell at an even higher price, but many businesses closed, adding to the problem, making people lose their jobs and homes, thus, losing their buying power. In China, there are thousands upon thousands of ultra-modern skyscraper buildings with luxury apartments and they are all empty. In Dubai, the same thing happens, as well as in other developed countries.
Homelessness is no longer a problem of third-world countries, it is happening everywhere. It is ironic that there is a housing shortage when there is more housing available now than, say 3 decades ago...but they are not for the common people...they are only for the rich. When we have a society consisting only of two classes, the rich and the poor, and a middle class that is almost non-existent...it is a disaster for it brings about inequality, corruption, abuse of power and a society in swift decline. Drugs and alcohol will be used to alleviate the fear and helplessness, crimes begin to rise, so communities begin to deteriorate, and properties lose their value. Then mental health turns fragile, people fight amongst themselves, discrimination, killings and political unrest become the daily news because there is bitterness and hatred. Meanwhile, the ultra-rich turn a blind eye to all of this, their focus only on counting the millions they have. It is a world that has lost its way.
But through all this, there is a ray of hope. Some have taken it upon themselves to find solutions to extract themselves from this vicious cycle, creating options that can help alter this human condition of greed by creating simpler and cheaper housing, creating small jobs, even allowing people to make their own homes from tons upon tons of trash we produce and ecologically planned, reducing excessive use of electricity. Sustainable solutions without selling their souls to banks while they break their backs working all their lives. I admire people who come up with solutions to help each other and the tiny house movement is exactly that, allowing people their right to proper housing. I agree. I think governments should allow more square feet of space but they won't because they discourage people from doing this, as it is not beneficial to them, because spending one's lifetime indebted to them, from school loans to housing loans, is a multi-billion-dollar/euro business.
Thank you for considering our discussion here as a good one, I appreciate it, as I do all those who have participated in it.
