The Advantages Of Renting

The U.S. government encourages people, with tax laws and loan programs, to own their own homes. It improves neighborhoods, builds value and gives people a stake in a better future.

But author Richard Florida tells host Scott Simon that the federal government may have missed a chance to update the U.S. economy for modern times by committing billions of dollars to help good people with bad mortgages.

"Renting may make sense not just for people who can't afford to buy a house, but for people whose careers require flexibility — and for an economy that's built on our flexibility, single family-owned housing may be a bit inflexible," he says.