Rent controls is universally considered a stupid idea, the only reason why it continues to exist for the benfits of the political class that leverage votes out of it.
Handing out subsidy checks for the same amount accomplishes the same thing without the deadweight loss of people getting locked in aparments that economically prohibitve to keep habitable , or the units stay vacant for the same reason (see NYC).
Even government run HUD aparments end up with the same problem, given the exact same economics.
> Rent controls is universally considered a stupid idea, the only reason why it continues to exist for the benfits of the political class that leverage votes out of it. Handing out subsidy checks for the same amount accomplishes the same thing
Fine, if subsidy checks then it’s subsidy checks. But subsidies or handouts will never work in the current political climate because it is “handouts for the poor”. So I don’t necessarily blame them for going this route.
All I am saying is that uncapped rent increases has put me at a major disadvantage, because every time I hope to save and buy for a house my rent jumps substantially and I find myself back to square one. I’m making progress toward that down payment sum, but the cost of moving + paying higher rent has made this a struggle.
Homeowners enjoy(ed) a lot of government perks - the GI bill spurred construction, property taxes are capped, interest can be a tax deduction. Renters get absolutely nothing, and 40% (vs 60% homeowners) is a non-trivial amount. Why can’t I have any protections or programs that help me save a bit more so I can actually be a homeowner?
Even the downvotes to my previous post seem to indicate that nobody really cares about renters - and I’m caught in this weird middle where I make too much to not qualify for subsidized housing and I make too little to save at a cadence where I can catch up with home appreciation and bidding wars. Now, I’ve to deal with bidding wars a renter too - it’s not the norm yet but I have certainly run into it. What the hell am I supposed to do?!?
Handing out subsidy checks for the same amount accomplishes the same thing without the deadweight loss of people getting locked in aparments that economically prohibitve to keep habitable , or the units stay vacant for the same reason (see NYC).
Even government run HUD aparments end up with the same problem, given the exact same economics.