Mr. Potter’s Takeover of George Bailey’s Housing Policy

• Post by: William C. Duncan
• April 11, 2023

In Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life, the concept of home ownership looms large. As the residents of Bedford Falls come to George Bailey’s rescue, one of the donors says that without George, he would not have a roof over his head. Indeed, George has devoted his life to building homes and increasing access to financing so others can buy these homes. The Bailey Park subdivision he creates boasts “dozens of the prettiest little homes you ever saw.” He and his wife, Mary, even help the Martini family (and their goat) move into one of these homes. George’s nemesis, the banker Henry Potter, also provides a roof over the heads of many Bedford Falls residents, but these residents pay rent to live in the “slums” he owns. Potter resents George’s Building and Loan at least in part because it threatens to deprive him of these rents and his control over the people of the town. George Bailey’s selflessness is heroic. The object of his generosity, helping hardworking families own their own homes, resonates with the audience. America values home ownership. A recent survey, highlighted in the New York Times, “found that 74 percent of respondents ranked homeownership as the highest gauge of prosperity, above having a career (60 percent), children (40 percent) and a college education (35 percent).”[1] The American dream of home ownership still looms large, even more than 70 years after It’s a Wonderful Life first captured the American imagination. The Home in American Law “Home,” understood as a physical residence, is not only an aspiration but an important legal concept. In fact, it has constitutional status in the United States. The Third Amendment in the Bill of Rights prohibits the government from forcing citizens to provide lodging for soldiers in peacetime in their houses without the owner’s consent. Even in the case of war, the amendment provides some protections by requiring that formal laws would have to be made to regulate the