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Is it just me, or is this less of the tech companies' and workers' fault and more of the greedy landlords jacking up prices? Shouldn't the protesters' anger be

Is it just me, or is this less of the tech companies' and workers' fault and more of the greedy landlords jacking up prices? Shouldn't the protesters' anger be directed at them instead?

viraptor 13y ago
I'm not sure if they should be angry at anyone at the moment. The market works - jobs mean more people coming in, high salaries mean high rents, people who can afford a good location will choose their place. Unless everyone in one group changes their mind, there will be an unbalanced situation (until the bubble bursts - rent goes so high that some people realise it's not reasonable to pay anymore and some big shift occurs - another campus of a big company gets built, new easier way of commuting is created, etc.) If they really want change, they'll have to figure out a way to create an incentive for the landlords to keep the price low, or for the workers to choose their house location differently. Being angry at anyone trying to maximise their comfort in a lawful way is rarely useful or effective.
- mempko 13y ago
  clearly the markets are not working for everyone.
  - viraptor 13y ago
    It's working the same way for everyone. It's not beneficial for everyone, but that's always the case.
nine_k 13y ago
OTOH it may be not landlords but city officials not allowing enough new construction, and their NIMBY-type electorate who protest against building adequate housing (yes, tall) and working public transportation?
yetanotherphd 13y ago
It's neither. Landlords have a right to charge as much as they can, and tech companies have a right to pay as much as they like (in fact, I encourage it). The real problems are (1) artificial restrictions on housing supply, and (2) people not being unable to deal with the harsh realities of the market. The free market means you can use money to buy things that other people also would have wanted. In fact, there would be little point in working if we couldn't. There is no reason to feel particularly sympathetic to the people who happened to be living in an area where rents increased. If the adjustment costs are very high, I also have nothing against increased aid to the people affected. But unless a person owns something, they don't have the right to it, and so people who have been renting a long time don't have the right to keep renting indefinitely at that price.

Is it just me, or is this less of the tech companies' and workers' fault and more of the greedy landlords jacking up prices? Shouldn't the protesters' anger be directed at them instead?

viraptor 13y ago

I'm not sure if they should be angry at anyone at the moment. The market works - jobs mean more people coming in, high salaries mean high rents, people who can afford a good location will choose their place. Unless everyone in one group changes their mind, there will be an unbalanced situation (until the bubble bursts - rent goes so high that some people realise it's not reasonable to pay anymore and some big shift occurs - another campus of a big company gets built, new easier way of commuting is created, etc.) If they really want change, they'll have to figure out a way to create an incentive for the landlords to keep the price low, or for the workers to choose their house location differently. Being angry at anyone trying to maximise their comfort in a lawful way is rarely useful or effective.

mempko 13y ago
clearly the markets are not working for everyone.
- viraptor 13y ago
  It's working the same way for everyone. It's not beneficial for everyone, but that's always the case.

nine_k 13y ago

OTOH it may be not landlords but city officials not allowing enough new construction, and their NIMBY-type electorate who protest against building adequate housing (yes, tall) and working public transportation?

yetanotherphd 13y ago

It's neither. Landlords have a right to charge as much as they can, and tech companies have a right to pay as much as they like (in fact, I encourage it). The real problems are (1) artificial restrictions on housing supply, and (2) people not being unable to deal with the harsh realities of the market. The free market means you can use money to buy things that other people also would have wanted. In fact, there would be little point in working if we couldn't. There is no reason to feel particularly sympathetic to the people who happened to be living in an area where rents increased. If the adjustment costs are very high, I also have nothing against increased aid to the people affected. But unless a person owns something, they don't have the right to it, and so people who have been renting a long time don't have the right to keep renting indefinitely at that price.