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Comment by arkis22 | Hacker News Reader

rent control just limits supply. city owned grocery stores is a huge capital and organization outlay just to save 2% margin with a huge opportunity cost. at least he backed down from defunding the police. the socialist democratic organization he belongs to hasnt though

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I think you're exaggerating his policies. He's not proposing "rent control", he's saying he won't raise the rent on existing rent-stabilized apartments. To conclude that limits supply assumes that all the extra money would be invested into new construction.

Likewise, he's only proposing a pilot program with five grocery stores, which isn't a huge capital expenditure for a large city.

You literally just described rent control.

That's kind of a joke right? it's a pilot program for 5 grocery stores? he wins votes off something that is something you admit is so inconsequential, while spending political capital to do it instead of other things? 2% margins baby

Those apartments are already under rent control, and they'd be just as rent controlled if he allowed a rent increase. So, if "rent control limits supply", the supply will be limited no matter what he does.

My mistake, I thought you meant financial capital. I disagree. It seems like grocery prices are a real problem in New York, and the existing subsidy program isn't working. Ensuring people can afford food seems like an excellent use use of political capital, and if it works it can be scaled up.

And those groceries stores are seemingly the only solution to urban food deserts where martgins are too thin for grocers to open shop

Man those are not real issues, a 5 grocery store pilot program and a rent freeze (which only applies to less than half of appartments in NYC and less than 30% or total housing in the city)

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