5 ms·

Landlording is rent seeking because the landlord did not create the primary value of a property: place. This is not the same at all.

izacus 3y ago
Neither did Apple, Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft. They already got paid for their iPhones, Xboxes, PS4s and Switches (consoles have stopped being sold with a loss around PS3 generation). Apple earns fat profits and margins on their hardware especially. Primary value is created by game developers, app developers and other people building things on top of those platforms.
- shuckles 3y ago
  If you believe this, then clearly you should believe that Spotify should be free after initial payment. After all, the recording artist was already paid, the mp3 exists, and the incremental cost to stream a song approaches $0.
  - izacus 3y ago
    No, I don't clearly believe that. Don't strawman.
    - shuckles 3y ago
      It’s not a strawman. It’s an application of your claim that up front payment gives rights to perpetual and arbitrary use of a product. Content DRM is as arbitrary and artificial as any iOS limitation.
quesera 3y ago
The "primary value of a property" (place), then, does not keep you warm or protect you from rain or theft, has no amenities nor facilities to store your belongings. It does not supply water or electricity, and has no responsible party to keep it maintained. You might instead choose a open field, or under a bridge, which would require no rent payment.
- shuckles 3y ago
  The locational value of most property far outweighs the value of improvements on it. This is not a particularly controversial statement among economists. A 1000 ft. high rise in Antarctica is not very valuable. A lord who extracts taxes from peasants that grow crops on it does little to improve the ground.
  - quesera 3y ago
    Only correct if you choose the extremes. Regardless, open fields and under bridges in, e.g., San Francisco are lousy places to live. Without the improvements, you do not have a home. So most people choose to pay for the "places" with improvements. The primary value of a property is therefore not the place. Location is sometimes the most significant variable in the value of a property. But that is not the same thing.

izacus 3y ago

Neither did Apple, Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft. They already got paid for their iPhones, Xboxes, PS4s and Switches (consoles have stopped being sold with a loss around PS3 generation). Apple earns fat profits and margins on their hardware especially. Primary value is created by game developers, app developers and other people building things on top of those platforms.

shuckles 3y ago
If you believe this, then clearly you should believe that Spotify should be free after initial payment. After all, the recording artist was already paid, the mp3 exists, and the incremental cost to stream a song approaches $0.
- izacus 3y ago
  No, I don't clearly believe that. Don't strawman.
  - shuckles 3y ago
    It’s not a strawman. It’s an application of your claim that up front payment gives rights to perpetual and arbitrary use of a product. Content DRM is as arbitrary and artificial as any iOS limitation.

quesera 3y ago

The "primary value of a property" (place), then, does not keep you warm or protect you from rain or theft, has no amenities nor facilities to store your belongings. It does not supply water or electricity, and has no responsible party to keep it maintained. You might instead choose a open field, or under a bridge, which would require no rent payment.

shuckles 3y ago
The locational value of most property far outweighs the value of improvements on it. This is not a particularly controversial statement among economists. A 1000 ft. high rise in Antarctica is not very valuable. A lord who extracts taxes from peasants that grow crops on it does little to improve the ground.
- quesera 3y ago
  Only correct if you choose the extremes. Regardless, open fields and under bridges in, e.g., San Francisco are lousy places to live. Without the improvements, you do not have a home. So most people choose to pay for the "places" with improvements. The primary value of a property is therefore not the place. Location is sometimes the most significant variable in the value of a property. But that is not the same thing.