Renters are not building equity. They are spending their wealth every month and accumulating no equity in return.

I don't agree with calling a "homeowner" rich. Owning the ground beneath your feet is a big part of having equity. With a mortgage, unlike rent, every month an increasing amount of your wealth accumulates as equity as you pay off your principal. Once you pay off your mortgage, you've significantly reduced your monthly burn rate and can start moving your accumulating equity into retirement accounts.

Reducing the total cost of primary home ownership, reducing the cost of financing a primary residence to help build equity, etc. are all important parts of giving upward class mobility.

These are not things you want to disincentivize. You want your renters to become owners. You want your workers to become small business owners. You want your communities to build equity in themselves.

If you tell me that being a homeowner today makes you rich, I'll tell you that is part of the problem.