Sunday, September 30, 2018

THE BATTLE IS JOINED: Attack Ads Launched Against California Rent Control Proposition


I have already discussed how Proposition 10, that is on the November election ballot in California, could destroy the state (See: The Proposition That is on the Ballot in November That Could Destroy California).

California builders and apartment owners, along with others, have launched new ads attacking the proposition. But will it be enough?

They are really making economic arguments while the pro-Proposition 10 advocates are launching ads lacking logic but strong on emotion--even featuring one ad that, with an incredible stretch, links President Trump to the anti-proposition advocates(see videos below).




An Attack on Homeowners. from No on Prop 10 on Vimeo.



It is instructive to compare the above ads with the ads being put out by the pro-Proposition 10 promoters:





-RW  

5 comments:

  1. I live in Arizona. It is a common belief, that Californians vote for stupid policies and taxes, then when they can no longer afford to live there, they move to Arizona and vote for the same BS that drove them out of CA. I dont know if that is necessarily true, since many of the Californians are very much against the politics that reign supreme there, but I do know that rent controls will end up pushing Californians and some of the investment money that may have gone to building new housing units here.

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    1. It's almost certainly absolutely true. You see the same thing from foreign naturalized immigrants as well. Mexicans vote to turn the state economically into Mexico. Asians vote to turn the state economically into whatever country they came from. Canadians vote to turn the state into Canada.

      It's always some version of "things would be better here if [the things I want] were free like they are in my original country."

      It's the same for state migration. People are just too greedy (and that's the real greed -- not someone working to better themselves and their customers), and/or too stupid.

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  2. Great advice: argue emotionally to the masses.

    Problem is, individuals specialize. Those knowledgeable in economics are generally unskilled in emotional advocacy, and vice versa.

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  3. Since it's an emotional argument shouldn't they show photos and video of NYC in the 1970s and 80s showing what rent control brought?

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  4. It's a supply problem. Need more housing units built. But price controls will only make it worse because less motivation to build more units if there is no money in it.
    But do you think there is something to be said for having laws against buying up masses of properties and then leaving them vacant?
    Or laws so that once you are in, you cannot raise the rent for 5 years unless the person moves out? Or is all law bad?

    I tend to think there should be some sort of regulation over monopolizing real estate.

    Like if you buy 10 housing units and you aren't renting them out you pay a higher property tax rate on a tiered system.
    Like in my folks' town only 1 in 5 houses are even occupied 12 month out of the year. Literally people are buying up all the houses and there is almost no land left to build and then they just sit vacant to be used as a 3rd or 4th vacation home.
    And the city has zoning laws preventing any tall buildings from being built etc. So no more area to build.
    Seems like something needs to be done about this sort of thing. I guess the free market answer is just move out if you can't afford it. (Which is what I did).
    Definitely not rent controls but some tax cuts or incentives for new construction of units. Something to promote supply of units.

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