4 ms·

Yes, it's true that in a city with an artificial housing scarcity like NYC, AirBnB alters the distribution of who gets to consume housing. It opens the market t

Yes, it's true that in a city with an artificial housing scarcity like NYC, AirBnB alters the distribution of who gets to consume housing. It opens the market to people who wouldn't otherwise be able to purchase. Similarly, if we allow illegal immigrants to rent flats then that will also push rents higher. Should we attempt to prevent this as well? If not, why not?

kareemm 10y ago
> Similarly, if we allow illegal immigrants to rent flats then that will also push rents higher. Should we attempt to prevent this as well? If not, why not? There are lots of factors that impact housing supply and demand. Whether they should be regulated / stopped generally becomes a question once the public actively engages in discussing it (see foreign investment in the Pacific Northwest for an example). Basically, if the public doesn't care, the politicians don't care. Since a pol's main incentive is to get re-elected, the issue has to become important to their constituents, otherwise it effectively doesn't matter.
- jstanley 10y ago
  Are you arguing that your analysis of what's right and wrong should rightly play second fiddle to a politician's chances of getting re-elected? GP wasn't asking whether it would be prevented, merely whether it should.
anamoulous 10y ago
Maybe an argument would be that, on balance, illegal immigration keeps cost down in the service industries. Those savings are realized at the local, neighborhood level in NYC (think your local bagel shop or bodega), while tourism and AirBnB tend to have less of a broader, distributed effect on commerce throughout the entire city. That's just one point. I guess on the other hand there is a cost of social services for illegal immigrants that would have to be quantified to make that argument. I don't know, it's complicated. Maybe put another way, illegal immigrants are part of the community, so their presence in the housing market must be balanced against their role in a more complex system. But if you are just asking about the nature of Justice, I don't have any thoughts on that.
Spooky23 10y ago
Are you really comparing the downsides of converting residential units into hotels to forcing people into homelessness?
weeksie 10y ago
Because AirBNB use in NY amounts to economic rent-seeking. That is fundamentally different than disallowing a class of people to participate in the economy.
- yummyfajitas 10y ago
  "Rent seeking"? I'm confused. AirBnB helps price goods closer to their market rate by expanding the market. If anything, the people who don't want to compete on price with AirBnB are the ones who are rent seeking.
  - weeksie 10y ago
    It's an economics term. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking
    - yummyfajitas 10y ago
      And you're misusing it.
      - weeksie 10y ago
        Sorry mate, I don't think you have a good enough grasp on econ to have this discussion.

kareemm 10y ago

> Similarly, if we allow illegal immigrants to rent flats then that will also push rents higher. Should we attempt to prevent this as well? If not, why not? There are lots of factors that impact housing supply and demand. Whether they should be regulated / stopped generally becomes a question once the public actively engages in discussing it (see foreign investment in the Pacific Northwest for an example). Basically, if the public doesn't care, the politicians don't care. Since a pol's main incentive is to get re-elected, the issue has to become important to their constituents, otherwise it effectively doesn't matter.

jstanley 10y ago
Are you arguing that your analysis of what's right and wrong should rightly play second fiddle to a politician's chances of getting re-elected? GP wasn't asking whether it would be prevented, merely whether it should.

anamoulous 10y ago

Maybe an argument would be that, on balance, illegal immigration keeps cost down in the service industries. Those savings are realized at the local, neighborhood level in NYC (think your local bagel shop or bodega), while tourism and AirBnB tend to have less of a broader, distributed effect on commerce throughout the entire city. That's just one point. I guess on the other hand there is a cost of social services for illegal immigrants that would have to be quantified to make that argument. I don't know, it's complicated. Maybe put another way, illegal immigrants are part of the community, so their presence in the housing market must be balanced against their role in a more complex system. But if you are just asking about the nature of Justice, I don't have any thoughts on that.

Spooky23 10y ago

Are you really comparing the downsides of converting residential units into hotels to forcing people into homelessness?

weeksie 10y ago

Because AirBNB use in NY amounts to economic rent-seeking. That is fundamentally different than disallowing a class of people to participate in the economy.

yummyfajitas 10y ago
"Rent seeking"? I'm confused. AirBnB helps price goods closer to their market rate by expanding the market. If anything, the people who don't want to compete on price with AirBnB are the ones who are rent seeking.
- weeksie 10y ago
  It's an economics term. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-seeking
  - yummyfajitas 10y ago
    And you're misusing it.
    - weeksie 10y ago
      Sorry mate, I don't think you have a good enough grasp on econ to have this discussion.