3 ms·

Hrm, I dunno. It seems like a pretty good deal for the person whose rent is controlled. I can hardly imagine that they'd (on average) be better off if they were

Hrm, I dunno. It seems like a pretty good deal for the person whose rent is controlled. I can hardly imagine that they'd (on average) be better off if they were forced to move elsewhere, or forced to pay more. It seems like what you might be observing is a correlated effect. That is, people who are so dependent on rent control must have a certain amount of fragility in their financial situation. Older people in financially tenuous positions are understandably reluctant to venture forth and take risks, both because we become less neuroplastic as we get older in general, and because poverty is not conducive to risk-taking. Now, whether rent control is good for society as a whole, I think that's a very different question with quite the opposite answer.

mruts 8y ago
I think that rent control can make you paralyzed. Unable/unwilling to pursue new and potentially better opportunities in new places. Having a rent controlled place makes it significantly less likely that you will take a job in another place, even if it's paying you more. It's the classic case of economic myopia. Maybe that new job would put you on a career path to be a millionaire in 10 years, but you can't see anything except how you would be losing money (by giving up your rent controlled apartment) in the short-term.
- cimmanom 8y ago
  On the other hand, rent control can make it possible for people to afford to live in areas of high opportunity when they otherwise might not. I for one have stayed in one of the highest paying and costliest metro areas in the world in part because I found a great low rent (not controlled) apartment. Moving elsewhere would cost less but also mean moving to a much less dynamic job and startup market.
- cma 8y ago
  So then if we did some kind of reverse of rent control, a tax on participating in the same community too long, we'd see radical benefits
  - mruts 8y ago
    That would disincentive investments and property ownership.
- nadezhda18 8y ago
  > Unable/unwilling to pursue new and potentially better opportunities in new places It so really depends on the actual people. The ones who really want to pursue new opportunities seldom look at the favorable rent in my opinion.

mruts 8y ago

I think that rent control can make you paralyzed. Unable/unwilling to pursue new and potentially better opportunities in new places. Having a rent controlled place makes it significantly less likely that you will take a job in another place, even if it's paying you more. It's the classic case of economic myopia. Maybe that new job would put you on a career path to be a millionaire in 10 years, but you can't see anything except how you would be losing money (by giving up your rent controlled apartment) in the short-term.

cimmanom 8y ago
On the other hand, rent control can make it possible for people to afford to live in areas of high opportunity when they otherwise might not. I for one have stayed in one of the highest paying and costliest metro areas in the world in part because I found a great low rent (not controlled) apartment. Moving elsewhere would cost less but also mean moving to a much less dynamic job and startup market.
cma 8y ago
So then if we did some kind of reverse of rent control, a tax on participating in the same community too long, we'd see radical benefits
- mruts 8y ago
  That would disincentive investments and property ownership.
nadezhda18 8y ago
> Unable/unwilling to pursue new and potentially better opportunities in new places It so really depends on the actual people. The ones who really want to pursue new opportunities seldom look at the favorable rent in my opinion.