Something that VIA frequently gets requests for is help with rent payments. Why is it difficult for so many people to afford housing? The standard answer is that it’s those lazy landlords, sitting on piles of money and smoking cigars, who are to blame. This seems to make sense at first glance—after all, aren’t the landlords the ones who are charging the rent? But let’s take a closer look by examining a case from a simpler time: that of Pa Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie. Pa Ingalls, though frequently short on luck, was an entrepreneur at heart. Anticipating that a thriving town would...