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Just one example. If I live in city A and all rental properties are owned by a select few wealthy companies and individuals, they are able to set the rental mar

Just one example. If I live in city A and all rental properties are owned by a select few wealthy companies and individuals, they are able to set the rental market. If they raise prices and I am a wage earner, I have no other option but to pay what they want, reducing my net income and increasing theirs. The vast majority of people are not able to spin a startup into being in their garages, they simply live and pay their bills the best that they can. I am not suggesting we vilify the wealthy but to suggest that one set of people earning greater portions of the total wealth does not negatively affect the less wealthy is disingenuous. The same concepts can be applied to the wealthy having access to lobbyists and consequently the ability to reduce regulations leading to long term health care costs for those forced to live in now less regulated environments. Gentrification is another venue for this. People live in a neighborhood, wealthier people move in and property taxes go up. Poor people are forced out. The actions of the wealthy have ramifications on the lives and incomes of the less wealthy.

SmirkingRevenge 8y ago
They can't really set price of the rental market, cant they? Salaries either have to keep pace with the rents, or renters get displaced. Displacement can only be sustained so long as there are transplants take their place, who can afford the rents, and there is usually finite supply. I've read conflicting things about gentrification. But on the "gentrification is good" side, the theory goes that areas that tend to "suffer" the most gentrification, tend to be areas that have very high levels of displacement already. They tend to be poor, lots of foreclosures or dead beat renters. In other words, gentrification doesn't necessarily increase levels of displacement. Owners in gentrified areas stand to greatly benefit from gentrification. The renters... they get displaced - but that was happening whether the area was gentrified or not.

SmirkingRevenge 8y ago

They can't really set price of the rental market, cant they? Salaries either have to keep pace with the rents, or renters get displaced. Displacement can only be sustained so long as there are transplants take their place, who can afford the rents, and there is usually finite supply. I've read conflicting things about gentrification. But on the "gentrification is good" side, the theory goes that areas that tend to "suffer" the most gentrification, tend to be areas that have very high levels of displacement already. They tend to be poor, lots of foreclosures or dead beat renters. In other words, gentrification doesn't necessarily increase levels of displacement. Owners in gentrified areas stand to greatly benefit from gentrification. The renters... they get displaced - but that was happening whether the area was gentrified or not.