2 ms·
I would take issue with the view of somebody's home as a commodity or an investment. Yes, it gets treated that way legally, but this is where people live, where
by tga_d 11y ago
I would take issue with the view of somebody's home as a commodity or an investment. Yes, it gets treated that way legally, but this is where people live, where people raise their families. There is a huge amount of emotional investment that isn't reflected in the rent, especially when the people living there can't afford to pay more. "Oh, you can't afford to live here any more? Then get wealthier or move some place cheaper" is a pretty cold and calculating view of how people should live, especially given that in many cases they've lived here their whole lives, or their families for many generations. That they should be forced to leave because a bunch of wealthy developers like the culture they and their families have built and are willing to pay more for it strikes me as capitalism for the sake of capitalism with no real concern for the people most affected by it.
- morgante 11y agoIf housing stability is essential, you should own your housing. As a renter, the tradeoff you're making is more flexibility for the potential that you might have to move.
- eropple 11y agoLots of people "should" own their housing. Turns out what one should do and what is economically capable of doing are rather divergent ideas! As a renter, the tradeoff is you can have a roof over your head because buying is absolutely beyond the reach of an alarming number of Americans.
- sien 11y agoThe problem is that the side effects of rent caps and hard development limits have produced so many poor results. Rent control in New York has worked poorly. The result is a few select people pay a fraction of what everyone else pays. Development difficulties have created San Francisco's crazy, crazy prices. In Australia restrictive planning has contributed substantially to making the Sydney median price 1M AUD for a free standing house with 10km of the CBD. In London restrictive planning has contributed to crazy, crazy prices. Meanwhile in Houston, with vastly fewer rules, houses are affordable for low income families.