5 ms·

It's a split issue. Renters want prices to go down. Owners want prices to go up. Who wins the political clash? Are there more voting owners, or voting renters?

• deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
• erikpukinskis 10y ago
  > Are there more voting owners, or voting renters? Doesn't matter. Owners win because we live in capitalist society, and capitalism means you must be an owner to get full rights. Non-gentry are second class citizens (no free movement, no access to clean water, no right to work the land, no right to build shelter). No free movement: I can't travel to many places without a car because property owners decided only people who own cars should be legally allowed to access a place. No access to clean water: water is a resource owned by corporations, the people drink at the corporation's pleasure. No right to work/shelter ones self: all land has been sold off, new people born into this world must first serve the gentry until the gentry decide to pay them enough to buy some land of their own.
  • obstacle1 10y ago
    >Owners win because we live in capitalist society NYC exists under the same capitalist system as SF or LA or wherever. Nothing you have described (need to drive, no clean water, etc.) applies to NYC. Therefore, your gripes aren't caused by the capitalist system you are blaming.
    • throwaway743824 10y ago
      I guess one can say it's a similar system. But, while definitions might differ, I'm not sure how capitalist I would call one of the largest government run subway systems in the world [0], half century long water tunneling projects [1] or the longest running rent control system in the US [2]. [0] https://www.forbes.com/sites/timothylee/2012/06/03/infrastructure-socialism-and-the-new-york-subway/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/timothylee/2012/06/03/infrastru... [1] http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/nyregion/10tunnel.html http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/nyregion/10tunnel.html [2] http://www.tenant.net/Oversight/50yrRentReg/history.html http://www.tenant.net/Oversight/50yrRentReg/history.html
• BurningFrog 10y ago
  Much of the voting takes place in neighborhood meetings, not in general elections. This system heavily favors existing home owners over the general public.
• true_tuna 10y ago
  Renters fight new construction too. "Gentrification will raise our rents". It's absurd how hard it is to get a permit to build in SF. Mountain View fought new housing construction for a decade as google was ramping up. Nobody seems to remember first year economics when it comes to construction on their block.