I think the point has been made adequately enough that rent controls will actually exacerbate the housing problem. Artificially keeping the price low ultimately means more condo conversions and fewer new rental units. And the cost of administering rent controls would just result in yet another government bureaucracy.
I suppose there will always be an element of society that wants government to fix the problems. My view is the government is always dumber than the free market and they should just let things be. Government doesn't fix things-- they usually make things worse whenever they get involved in private enterprise. Over time the market will work out the issues.
If you're one of the ones facing such high rent that its preventing you from saving up a downpayment, that sucks, but that is not a reason to have government jump in and tell a landlord how much they can charge you to live in their house. In every type of economy there are winners and losers. This economy benefits landlords at the moment. Things will change. In the meantime, those on the bottom of the heap need to try to find a way to help themselves out of their current situation-- and that probably means some hard choices.
Someone mentioned gas prices.... I hope they go higher yet, its time people stopped treating gas like its some cheap resource. Prices need to climb so society will be forced to look at alternatives. All these massive vehicles on the road are so inefficient.
|