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You can look up the arguments for housing being interstate commerce in the FCC case I alluded to and in the arguments supporting the fair housing act. > The At

You can look up the arguments for housing being interstate commerce in the FCC case I alluded to and in the arguments supporting the fair housing act. > The Attorney General testified that "the housing business is substantially interstate and subject to the commerce clause" because of the interstate movement of building materials, mortgage funds, and advertising, as well as the interstate movement of workers and their families. [1] A meaningful challenge to this would invalidate the fair housing act. This falls squarely under the dormant commerce clause. Further, rent control has been shown in studies of San Francisco to decrease supply, unit quality and increase prices. There’s no market on earth that honors the price you would have paid when you first showed up no matter how long you sit there and no matter how it hurts others, by law. [2] In a market where supply and demand meet prices don’t go up, and rent control is unncessary. See Japan. [3] In a market where supply and demand are forbidden from meeting rent control creates further harm to the market, and only masks the problem for a vocal minority. Unfortunately for all of us popular policy is not necessarily good policy. Eliminating the zoning premium would bring houses down in price by $400,000 each. I suspect you’d be able to afford to buy, and yes, rent would come down a lot. [1] https://www.justice.gov/crt/housing-and-civil-enforcement-cases-documents-192 https://www.justice.gov/crt/housing-and-civil-enforcement-ca... [2] https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w24181/w24181.pdf https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w24181/w241... [3] https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JPNCPIHOUQINMEI https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/JPNCPIHOUQINMEI

archagon 2y ago
I don't have citations on hand, but as I recall, studies on rent control have shown both positive and negative effects. Proponents/opponents like to pick and choose the studies that back their existing convictions. But the whole must be considered. I'll tell you from personal experience that not having to worry about arbitrary rent increases and evictions is a massive relief that I imagine few renters in other American cities get to experience. Frankly, it's unconscionable for people to be pushed out of their homes due to market forces outside their control. I strongly support building new housing, but not at the expense of renter security — even if it means that some new people don't get to move to the city. > Eliminating the zoning premium would bring houses down in price by $400,000 each. I suspect you’d be able to afford to buy. No, I can't afford a $2M home and I won't be able to afford a $1.6M home either. And it won't happen right away, if it ever does.
- arcticbull 2y ago
  I cited the specific study on San Francisco that supports my argument as [2] — I edited it in for posterity so it may not have been there when you looked. We can just end rent control for anyone who doesn’t have it but ending it is strictly good policy. There’s no rational basis in economics to support it. Rent prices wouldn’t go up if supply and demand were allowed to meet making rent control unnecessary anyways. You get both security and lower prices if you just build. If you want to lock in the price negotiate such a lease directly or buy, but don’t leverage the state to force it.
  - archagon 2y ago
    > Rent prices wouldn’t go up if supply and demand were allowed to meet making rent control unnecessary anyways. You get both security and lower prices if you just build. If you want to lock in the price negotiate such a lease directly or buy. You can do other things to increase supply (rezone, force vacant properties to be rented, offer subsidies to developers, etc.) while still maintaining rent control. The end result will be the same once the market stabilizes, except rent control has the benefit of protecting renters again unforeseen future market distortions, such as your neighborhood suddenly becoming popular with the nouveau riche. I see the elimination of rent control as a blatantly anti-renter, pro-landlord policy that's dressed up as pro-renter market correction.
    - arcticbull 2y ago
      Again rent control has no economic basis, and when supply and demand meet rent prices don’t rise anyways.
      - archagon 2y ago
        Labor rights don't have an economic basis, either. Some policies put the human first instead of capital.
        arcticbull 2y ago

archagon 2y ago

I don't have citations on hand, but as I recall, studies on rent control have shown both positive and negative effects. Proponents/opponents like to pick and choose the studies that back their existing convictions. But the whole must be considered. I'll tell you from personal experience that not having to worry about arbitrary rent increases and evictions is a massive relief that I imagine few renters in other American cities get to experience. Frankly, it's unconscionable for people to be pushed out of their homes due to market forces outside their control. I strongly support building new housing, but not at the expense of renter security — even if it means that some new people don't get to move to the city. > Eliminating the zoning premium would bring houses down in price by $400,000 each. I suspect you’d be able to afford to buy. No, I can't afford a $2M home and I won't be able to afford a $1.6M home either. And it won't happen right away, if it ever does.

arcticbull 2y ago
I cited the specific study on San Francisco that supports my argument as [2] — I edited it in for posterity so it may not have been there when you looked. We can just end rent control for anyone who doesn’t have it but ending it is strictly good policy. There’s no rational basis in economics to support it. Rent prices wouldn’t go up if supply and demand were allowed to meet making rent control unnecessary anyways. You get both security and lower prices if you just build. If you want to lock in the price negotiate such a lease directly or buy, but don’t leverage the state to force it.
- archagon 2y ago
  > Rent prices wouldn’t go up if supply and demand were allowed to meet making rent control unnecessary anyways. You get both security and lower prices if you just build. If you want to lock in the price negotiate such a lease directly or buy. You can do other things to increase supply (rezone, force vacant properties to be rented, offer subsidies to developers, etc.) while still maintaining rent control. The end result will be the same once the market stabilizes, except rent control has the benefit of protecting renters again unforeseen future market distortions, such as your neighborhood suddenly becoming popular with the nouveau riche. I see the elimination of rent control as a blatantly anti-renter, pro-landlord policy that's dressed up as pro-renter market correction.
  - arcticbull 2y ago
    Again rent control has no economic basis, and when supply and demand meet rent prices don’t rise anyways.
    - archagon 2y ago
      Labor rights don't have an economic basis, either. Some policies put the human first instead of capital.
      - arcticbull 2y ago