I have included two
photos that come from different periods in San Francisco construction
history.
The first photo describes standard houses in the period before WWII when the only people who could buy a house where well to do people who could come up with 50% of the price of a house (mortgages started out at 25% of the house appraisal and slowly moved up to 50% by the 1930s. Nearly all people who could buy a house were, self employed, business owners or managers.
The second photo
describes homes built after WWII when mortgages were more commonly
given to salaried workers for 90% of appraised value. In San
Francisco these were predominantly union workers who had nearly
lifetime jobs with high salaries. This style house is appropriately
called 'union housing', the housing above is 'upper income' housing.
Which do you prefer? Have unions really had a beneficial effect on our society?