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Showing posts from June, 2020

On Housing, and the Upcoming Rental Issue

I want to write a bit about what I perceive as issues with the housing market in the US, but first a hot and very controversial take: rent should be automatically cancelled for renters in months where they have a significant and documented financial hardship. I'll let that simmer, and get back to it; first, though, what's wrong with the housing market. Housing, like food, water, and basic medical care (and clothing, to a lesser extent) is in most cases a necessity of life in a modern society. You need access to food and water to live, clothing and shelter to protect from the elements, and basic medical care for ailments which would otherwise dramatically shorten the general societal life expectancy (eg: stopping bleeding, setting bones, antibiotics, etc.). These could be considered the "basic essentials" of a modern civilized society, and most countries have figured out ways to make each of them generally available to everyone. This is not without cost, though, and th