People are against the idea because in their minds they won't be able to buy 2-3 homes and rent one or two out.
No, this is about companies owning 150,000 apartments in a city that they simply charge ever-increasing rent for. It's lunacy.
No, this is about companies owning 150,000 apartments in a city that they simply charge ever-increasing rent for. It's lunacy.
We can't abolish rent-seeking entirely without overthrowing the whole system, so we have to realize that there are different shades of damage done by rent-seeking.
> We can't abolish rent-seeking entirely without overthrowing the whole system
Well we can certainly ameliorate it. Implementing a proper Georgist LVT would be a nice first step.
Can't outlaw one without outlawing the other one.
If you ban one entity from owning more than n apartments, they'll just create apartments/n shell companies.
Berlin just came from a place of super low rent and is slowly catching up to other large German cities. Understandably, Berliners are in shock, but it's more "things are returning to normal" than "Berlin is so expensive, nobody can live there".
Those companies owning 150K apartments are also shareholder companies, so "small people" and their pension plans will still be affected.
Also just because people need something, doesn't imply they have to be given those things for free. That's not usually how it works.
For example: no homeless. This is all a private territory, and if you don't pay your rent, a guard escorts you off the premises. Very little if any crime because crime prevention is all in one hands and these hands are protecting by and large, their own private property and their profits (because if the crime rate goes up, rent goes down and rent is how they make money).
A wall keeping undesirables out.
Guards/police that can check your papers anytime just simply as they can say in a hotel - "what's your room number"? So no "undocumented" aliens.
There can't be any constitutional etc. bullshit that could prevent them from having an actual 24/7 guarded wall and checkpoints with papers check around their PRIVATE property. It can be a functional society where everyone who's there, belongs there.
I give it a few years before your corporate lordship fucks you over and you have no recourse or you simply get bored out of your mind in this perfect city.
But don't worry, the rest of us will provide some quality locks on the outside of your wall, so you can stay there until death.
With multiple small private cities, you can change cities.
Actually, with governments, you could also try to switch countries.
That is why I am opposed to mega states like EU wants become, so that people still have some choices left.
a) Extortion is how they make money. They control your entire life, job, 'safety', home, streets, food supply, and everything you can do, and they aren't accountable to the public. You have no choice but to give them everything or your life collapses. "Just leave" works if you're a 20 year old single programmer with a six figure salary and no family or friends, it doesn't work if your family is dependent on your income, you have social bonds with your neighbours, limited savings, education and media controlled by the feudal Lord CEO telling you everywhere outside is awful. You may as well suggest North Koreans can just leave if they don't like it.
b) Why do they need to make money? You're a captive slave, their private security force isn't going to let you out of the wall until you've paid your "debts", "citizen". Make your way back to your cell and show up for work tomorrow.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTN64g9lA2g - "Adam Something" talks through the development of such a city-dystopia. "Feudalism with extra steps".