A Stitch in Haste

The blog migration and a rather ho-hum recent Netflix rental history left me with little to offer in the way of Kip Clips this time.

But given the recent discussion in libertarian circles (including this blog) about the propriety of “fostering homeownership as public policy,” I thought I would offer up two snippets from the magnificent Ric Burns documentary “New York” that remind us that this policy is hardly new.

As you watch today’s clip, ask yourself some questions:

–Isn’t it interesting how bipartisan these efforts were? (Robert Moses began as a Tammany-spawned Democrat, Robert Taft was a conservative Ohio Republican and a fierce opponent of the New Deal, etc.)

–Who has the better claim to the “real world” that historian Mike Wallace references: libertarians or progressives?

–Were the unintended race-based side effects of these federal programs really unintended?

–Were the “friends” of Robert Moses mentioned in the clip really “capitalists”? Wasn’t the problem that they actually weren’t true capitalists?

–Was the line from urban renewal to Kelo inevitable? Or, should the utter failure of urban renewal have made Kelo impossible?

More on the Federal Housing Act of 1949 here. A related clip tomorrow.