It's easy to agree that property owners provide value, some more than others. Anyone who thinks otherwise is not seeing the big picture. On the other hand, you

It's easy to agree that property owners provide value, some more than others. Anyone who thinks otherwise is not seeing the big picture. On the other hand, you seem to be ignoring the realities of supply and demand, which can quite simply allow rental costs to increase well above the value that owners provide. Obviously I don't know, but I suspect you might be seeing a king of survivorship bias. Many people I know were in fact displaced from the place they want to live, including careers and communities they were a part of, due to cost of living. Housing is a big part of that. Are you surrounded by people who can afford it, and perhaps unaware of the people who can't?