Years ago, back in college, I went on an alternative spring break program where we spent a week in Harlan County, Kentucky: the heart of the coal region. We were there under the auspices of the environment studies department to learn about mountaintop-removal coal mining (we were instructed not to tell anybody why we were there; apparently, a previous group had been kicked out of a store for being against coal mining.)

But we also did a bunch of service work in the fairly economically depressed town; we painted a school auditorium, and we helped insulate some older houses and do other manageable home improvement jobs.

One little bit of that I remember specifically. We were supposed to drill a hole in the wall (for a reason I don’t recall.) The only problem was, we didn’t have a drill. What we did have was an electric screwdriver with a Phillips bit. That kind of looks like a drill, right? Well, after a few futile minutes of trying to jam a dulled screwdriver bit through wood paneling, we gave up.

We didn’t have the right tool for the job.

I remember back in college, too, we had a bank ATM in our dining hall lobby. The ATM I use now, at my current bank, spits out my card and prompts me to take it before completing the transaction. This ATM we had in college did not do that. Did we always remember to remove our cards before walking away? What do you think?

At my home, I find that running outside—checking the mail, taking out the trash, grabbing something from the car—is more annoying than it should be. I don’t like to wear my indoor slippers outside, and I don’t like having to put on and tie my sneakers just to run out for 30 seconds. There’s a right tool for this: something like Crocs or a cheap clone, that stays on your feet, is durable, and is suitable to wear outside. I don’t own that; maybe I should.

What these little vignettes have in common is that they’re all examples of a problem or inconvenience that is obviously solved with a better tool. A drill, a more logical ATM prompt, casual outdoor footwear. These are all useful things for certain activities or processes.

I submit that “you need the right tool for the job” is the right frame for this; not “you should work harder.” Because work or work ethic isn’t the issue.

With housing discourse, you see this all the time. We’re constantly told to save more, or look somewhere else, or give up vacations or smartphones or eating out. To actually identify the problem—the housing market is broken—is seen as whining. To ask for that market to be fixed is seen as demanding something.

This is patronizing, but it’s also just wrong. There’s a difference between nobly doing what you can with what you have, and treating it as illegitimate to make a process better or solve a problem. Trying to save for a down payment by trimming your food budget around the edges is trying to drill a hole in a wall with a dull screwdriver.

Building housing is the right tool for the job.

Related Reading:

Wrong on Red

Policy Is a Good Thing

The Path of Most Desire

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