Page 6 THE REVERE ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2025 ~ GUEST COMMENTARY ~ What’s Happened to the American Dream of Home Ownership? By Sal Giarratani W hen World War II ended and our troops started returning home, thanks to the G.I. bill many of those members of the Greatest Generation not only won the war and saved democracy but they also received the opportunity to leave those crowded urban areas they had grown up in and start their own homeownership dreams. Now many who enlisted out of the neighborHe’s Back...and Better Than Ever! John A. Fitzpatrick (Fitzy) Sales & Lease Consultant Direct: 617.410.1030 Main: 617.381.9000 Cell: 617.279.9962 McGovern Automotive Group 100 Broadway, Rte. 99, Everett Donate Your Vehicle Call (866) 618-0011 to donate your car, truck, boat, RV, and more today! Support Veteran Nonprofi ts. Free Pickup & Towing. Top Tax Deduction. Donate Your Vehicle Today 866-618-0011 www.veterancardonations.org/dnt122 While we appreciate every donation, in some cases, we fi nd that we are unable to accept certain vehicles, watercraft, and/or recreational vehicles due to the prohibitive costs of acquisition. If you have any questions, please give us a call at (866) 618-0011. Everett Aluminum 10 Everett Ave., Everett 617-389-3839 Celebrating 66 Years in Business! Owned & Operated by the Conti Family since 1958 “Same name, phone number & address for over half a century. We must be doing something right!” f www.everettaluminum.com hoods of the cities they grew up in found a chance to move into the suburbs and moved into brand-new single-family homes where they had backyards, front lawns and parking spaces for the fi rst time in their lives. A new era for America began in the 1950s and many baby boomers like myself were living in new places only dreamed of previously. The Fifties for many changed their lives forever and in a positive way. How many Boston natives ended up on the north shore or south shore because of affordable government mortgages? Suburban living wasn’t the enemy but today I think is trying to put the kibosh on single-family homes. Government is now trying to force social engineering on homeowners today. Either through new mandates and laws or through guilt. Recently, with the MBTA Communities Act, our state lawmakers are trying to force smaller communities surrounding Boston to expand multiple housing, expanding what they call affordable new larger units and using space more efficiently whether towns want this or not. Look at Milton or more lately Middleboro to see this forcing housing down unwilling throats. It all reminds me of the 1970s when government instituted forced busing in their social engineering scheme. A Boston Globe editorial on February 27 wondered out loud why do homes really need 2-acre lots and then states “Spoiler alert: No.” The editorial was all about how great the MBTA Communities Act is because it states Massachusetts isn’t producing enough housing. I guess single-family homeowners are the culprits, huh? However, a letter writer to the Boston Globe earlier this week put things into much better prospective. Says the writer, “Inherent to the America dream is freedom of choice. The question is this: Should people have the freedom to live on a 2-acre lot?” Alright, I’m fi nally getting to my point. I just read The Advocate’s page one news story on the local opposition to state-mandated ADUs. City elected offi cials and residents were both distressed to learn that the Revere ordinance on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) needs to be amended because of the existence for a state mandate allowing all ADUs to be built by right in areas where single-family homes are allowed. One resident at this meeting pointed out the absurdity of this state mandate — opposing it because how much more the mandate would overbuild and overpopulate local communities, whether the community supported it or not. According to how this new mandate is being implemented, an ADU could be 900 square feet or half the size of a single-family home. To me and many others, does this look like an in-law apartment or does it look like two houses on one lot? Is the state in the business of simply increasing density as a positive? Is this also why the state is pushing the MBTA Communities Act, which forces communities to build denser multiple housing sites simply because they have MBTA train service? I have even heard (still checking this out) but is Beacon Hill now calling bus stops “train stations” in lieu of actual train stations? I say the people of Revere and their elected officials need to take a stand. Last time I looked we were a government of, for and by the people. We are about to start celebrating the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution. Remembering Lexington and Concord starts next month. In June, it will be Bunker Hill Day over in nearly Charlestown. Benjamin Franklin said it best to a passerby outside where delegates had just created our U.S. Constitution: You have “A republic, if you can keep it.” Gimme and all of us our Democratic Republic back. Spring is Here!
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