it seems so

  It's a topic I hear about all the time. The modern-day term being affordable housing. What I hear is the word reservation. A place to put those folks that you  need but don't want living in your neighborhood. Yeah, sometimes they are called tenements, a place for tenants to live, or just the slums. All of those places started out with nice names and promises. The earliest examples being the share cropper shacks. The promise there was what? A house of your own, almost, and a piece of the pie. Now you weren't allowed at the table, your slice would be given to you after the dinner was over. It's true, you didn't have to get up and go to work, no one could force you, but they could throw you off the land. That system began shortly after the civil war. Well, at least it became more prevalent. Contrary to Hollywood and popular belief it wasn't restricted to freed slaves, there were plenty of white folks too. Poor people with nowhere to go and no means to support themselves. 

 Following close on that was the jobs offered in the factories. Those jobs paid more and weren't quite as labor intensive. At a minimum they were indoors. For some an upgrade from the fields and mother nature. Of course, these folks needed a place to live. The tenement was born! Not all that different from the company towns associated with mining. The objective was to provide a place, at the lowest possible cost, for the workers to live. Certainly not next door but close enough to get to the factory in the morning. The tenement quickly turned into a reservation, in my opinion. Same concept anyway. Keep those folks where you can keep an eye on them, control them, and restrict their movements. That is accomplished by dependence. The plan is still in use to this very day.

 Today I hear about affordable housing for the working man. Hasn't that always been the case? The only difference being what that housing looks like. Affordable housing today is often called a "development." I'm old enough to recall when that first came into popular use. Ever hear of Levittown? Yes, that was affordable housing for veterans. Well, not all veterans if you read about the reality of it, but I'm only talking about the concept. A ranch home in the country, within commuting distance, affordable to the returning veterans of WW2. That was the promise, the sales pitch, and the investors made a fortune. It was touted as the real American dream. The construction was an early form of pre-fab and were quickly built. The idea was to build the quintessential American neighborhood. Swimming pools and seven shopping centers were included. White picket fences everywhere. A total of four Levittown's were built. 

 Today tenement buildings are called condo's or townhouses. They can be found in developments, sometimes gated to give it that sense of class. It's a sales tactic. selling exclusivity. Only the finest working-class folks allowed. The real wealthy and successful people live on their estates. They certainly don't live in a "development." The issue today is in making that affordable without cutting into corporate profits too deeply. 

 Individual homes are still the primary objective for many. That is, after all the great American dream. It is what brought people to America from all over the world. The promise of freedom, of wide open spaces, and the ability to advance on your own merits. As the years went by the question of affordability became the primary factor. Once the land had been claimed, bought up, and developed. First we put those pesky natives on reservations, provided them with affordable housing. We gave them food and blankets, they were dependent, under control. Next was the working class folks, have to control them. The surest way to control is by dependence. An increase in wages, some guarantees of fair labor practices, some benefits and entitlements have generally been sufficient to keep things under control. Combined with the dependence upon modern day conveniences like electricity that only a giant corporation can provide and a dependence is created. You can't just go and live off the land, you don't own that land! And even if you do you can't just do whatever you want with it! No harming the rare rock frog or disturbing any other ecological processes. You can't just go fishing! Need a license for that, a permit, and permission to fish in that area. You can't simply build a house without having all the proper permits, surveys and authorization! You think you can just cut those trees down? The individual home? Well, that has to be affordable housing, doesn't it? Affordable housing for the dependent. What is affordable housing? It's the illusion of independence. Providing you with what you can't afford, at an affordable price. It's the greatest scam of all time and still works to this day. Dependent on independence? It seems so.