It would be nice to see the West do something like this in the major cities like LA, NY, etc. Foreigners shouldn't be able to come in and buy competitive property when they don't play by the same financial rules as us. seems unfair
Why oppose a Russian millionaire buying an LA townhouse, but not a Russian millionaire buying a Degas painting? If LA residents deserve laws to help them buy a townhouse in a good neighborhood, don't they deserve laws to help them buy other luxuries?
Why oppose a Russian millionaire buying an LA townhouse, but not a Russian tourist buying a ticket to Disneyland? Tickets to a venue of limited size are the most inelastic of goods. If you ban foreigners, won't that help lower demand for tickets (and therefore ticket prices) and reduce lines for native LA visitors?
> Why oppose a Russian millionaire buying an LA townhouse, but not a Texan millionaire buying the same townhouse?
A Texan resident is subject to the same federal financial rules and regulations when earning an income in the US as a LA resident. The Russian millionaire can earn millions in a different country under unknown rules.
> Why oppose a Russian millionaire buying an LA townhouse, but not a Russian millionaire buying a Degas painting?
Buying a Degas painting is a luxury, having a home for your family to live in is a necessity.
> Why oppose a Russian millionaire buying an LA townhouse, but not a Russian tourist buying a ticket to Disneyland?
Again buying a ticket to Disneyland is a luxury, not a necessity.
Yes, I agree with you that having (not necessarily owning) a home (of some sort) is a necessity. However, my point was that owning the sort of city townhouse that would interest foreign millionaires is a luxury and a choice.