The following is an open letter to Ms. Janet Albrechtsen, who (as I have verified), writes a weekly column for The Australian. Ms. Albrechtsen appeared in today's Wall Street Journal in an editorial titled, "Not Everyone Should Own a Home."
Dear Ms. Albrechtsen:
With all due respect, I believe that either you or an editor mis-titled your column in today's Wall Street Journal ("Not Everyone Should Own a Home," WSJ, 10/06/08, A19). Rather than make a case that there are people who by nature cannot own homes (a contradiction of basic principles of the natural law, of which private property is a major part), you present an excellent case that there are some people who shouldn't be selling homes, or fiddling around with the free market in an effort to achieve political goals and limited special interests of selected groups. This, as you point out, is an absolute disaster.
You are, however, correct in your statement that no one in Washington seems to be talking about fixing the financially counterproductive, even suicidal policies that got the United States and the rest of the world into its present position — although it might be more accurate to say that no one is Washington is listening to viable solutions.
Since February of this year, volunteers at the interfaith Center for Economic and Social Justice ("CESJ"), www.cesj.org, have been attempting to gain the ear of someone who will listen to the short term solution we have worked out to address the housing situation, as well as the long term program that would prevent it from happening again.
By actual count as of Friday of last week, I personally have sent 92 letters and e-mails on this subject, more than half of which went to the Wall Street Journal. Others in the CESJ network have either copied selected letters to their Congressman and Senators, or sent them as e-mails to their own networks. Twenty-seven of these letters have been slightly modified and posted on our blog, as will this letter.
Former Congressman Walter Fauntroy has been making great efforts to bring these ideas to the attention of various Senators and Congressman. We expect to hear this week whether or not he has been successful.
Donations to CESJ are tax deductible in the United States under IRC § 501(c)(3):