Brazilian Government Insurance Helps Purchase Homes: by Frances Garnett

Brazil's National Monetary Council, after a prolonged debate, has approved an increase in the values of homes people can use their FGTS to buy. FGTS is an unemployment insurance fund led by the Brazilian government. It was initiated in 1966 with a goal to give insurance for the unemployed.
Rio de Janeiro residents can now buy a home with a worth of up to R$750,000, equal to about $334,254.75 in the United States. With that, a person could buy anything from a one-bedroom apartment of thirty square meters to a family home. This increase was caused by increasing construction costs, real estate prices and high inflation in the country, but particularly in the cities of Rio and São Paulo. This new increase is supposed to allow more people to enter into a hard-to-enter economy and have an opportunity to have their own home. Many people are optimistic that this will have a positive impact on demand and the success of construction companies.

This article was probably written to promote this new increase and idea, and its main idea is how this will benefit positively the people who use FGTS, construction companies and other companies. Personally, I think this is a really good idea. The Brazilian government seems to be doing a good job, (or making an effort) at helping people who may not ordinarily have the chance to be able to buy a nice and reasonable place to live. I wonder if the United States has a program like this, and if they don't, they should. Many people would probably be afraid a fund like this would be taken advantage of, but in Brazil, there are restrictions that help ensure this money is used where it's needed. For example, a person can only access the money is they are unemployed, severely ill, retired or if they don't already own a home, and the applicant can't be involved in any other housing projects. The United States needs something like this to support its citizens in times of crisis or need instead of letting them fend for themselves.

Source: http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-real-estate/raised-fgts-limit-helps-homebuyers/