"When you have a homeowner, you have a taxpayer. I do not care about tax policy unless I have a job. I do not care about a bond issue for infrastructure repairs unless I own a home or a business. It is not a miracle; it is common sense. It is enlightened self-interest.
When you have a homeowner, you have a potential venture capitalist. Why? Because when you have a home, you build equity. If you want to start a business, and the bank turns you down, you approve yourself and get a home equity loan, and invest in your own business. You become your own scholarship and send your own child to whatever four-year college you want. You have options in your life, and you take those options because you have empowered yourself with the pride and substance of ownership. When you have a homeowner, you have a stakeholder."
John Hope Bryant
Chairman and founder, Operation HOPE