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>Landlords extract the marginal difference between what people can buy and what people can rent. By participating in real estate markets, they leverage inequali
by cwhiz 6y ago
>Landlords extract the marginal difference between what people can buy and what people can rent. By participating in real estate markets, they leverage inequality of capital to overcharge renters beyond what the market would clear at without landlords.
This statement presumes that people, if given the choice, would always choose to buy. Not so! People rent for numerous reasons, many of which have nothing to do with their income or ability to buy.
>Small-time embezzlers are just normal people too! Loan sharks, shady mechanics, and bail bondsmen are also extractive everymen.
Fairly absurd for you to compare people who own a second home or a duplex to embezzlers or loan sharks. Give me a break.
- jdashg 6y agoI do not assume all people want to rent, merely that there exist renters who would prefer to buy but do not. People do rent for many reasons, but in my cohort the primary reason is "cannot afford to buy", and I don't think that's unusual. As I pointed out, homes would be strictly easier to purchase with fewer landlords in the market. I don't think my comparisons are absurd, which is why I made them: They are illustrative. Just as loan sharks occasionally do provide valuable loans to people with no other option, so too do landlords occasionally provide valuable flexibility. However, it's not their primary effect.