(09-22-2022, 09:16 AM)homebiscuit Wrote:

(09-22-2022, 08:41 AM)mikesez Wrote: The higher the stakes, the more people lie.
People don't lie much on the elementary and high school lotteries we have to meet racial quotas at magnet and charter schools in some places.
But they do stretch the truth in college admissions.  Anyone with a drop of African ancestry is black, and Asians select "prefer not to say."
It wouldn't make much sense to have any kind of large benefit based on race, for that reason.
But a one time check probably isn't the right solution to the problem I described anyhow, even if no one would lie and we could make sure only the "right" people got the check.
The problem I'm describing is one where, 80 years ago, white people had the opportunity to get subsidized mortgages in desirable areas, while black people weren't permitted to live in those areas.  This remained true for about 30 years, in every part of the US. This, not slavery, is the main cause of the racial wealth disparity we see today.  I don't think we can ever make a race-based subsidized mortgage program, but perhaps we should have one based on if your parents are wealthy or not.  Similar to how colleges hand out financial aid based on calculated family wealth, an aid to first time homebuyers could be done the same way.

How do you reconcile the fact that most students receiving student aid are minors when first applying, who have no career work experience, and people who apply for mortgages that are adults established in the workforce? It’s an intrinsically unequal comparison.

We already have a variety of federal programs that make mortgages cheaper.  I wouldn't necessarily change any of them.  I'm just suggesting adding a new program that only people with poor parents qualify for.  If the home is being purchased by a married couple, and both spouses can document that they and their parents have minimal assets, perhaps the benefit would double.

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