Becoming a Nation of Renters Might Save Us

Homeownership is down and renting is up, and that surely means bad news for the economy and people's finances, right? Wrong, argues Daniel Gross in the Wall Street Journal. In fact, it's a beautiful thing. "The new realities of our increasingly mobile economy make it more likely that this transition from an Ownership Society to what might be called a Rentership Society, far from being a drag, will unleash a wave of economic efficiency that could fuel the next boom."

See, for instance, how the rental philosophy is spreading beyond the housing industry, with innovative ventures springing up on everything from cars to textbooks to dresses. Americans are smarter with their money now, and the notion that owning a home is a can't-go-wrong proposition has been thankfully shattered. For now, the economy "needs the dynamism that renting enables as much as—if not more than—it needs the stability that ownership engenders." Click for the full column. (More renters stories.)