A bit of rent control wouldnt hurt either - it helps keep a lid on property values and hence keeps NIMBYism down. The average economist's salary is, of course, dependent upon them not understanding this.
Absolutely. One can only dream of a future where LVT covers almost all of a nation's tax needs...
> A bit of rent control wouldnt hurt either
> The average economist's salary is, of course, dependent upon them not understanding this
Huh? If there's one thing that is in almost universal agreement among economists of all political bents, it's that price controls, including rent control, result in worse outcomes for those that they are ostensibly designed to help.
They were in almost universal agreement that raising the minimum wage caused unemployment until the mid 90s too. Where the interests of capital are at stake their vision of reality is distorted.
They're one of the few types of scientists who are essentially paid to be wrong by people who benefit from the policy decisions that result as a side effect of them being wrong.
The strictest rent controls in NYC in the last 80 years were in the 1950s. The fastest rate of home building in NYC was also in the 1950s. It didn't hurt then, it won't hurt now.
Otherwise property owners will rally together to declare even an ugly launderette as historic, just to inhibit supply in their area:
https://missionlocal.org/2018/06/the-strange-and-terrible-sa...
A bit of rent control wouldnt hurt either - it helps keep a lid on property values and hence keeps NIMBYism down. The average economist's salary is, of course, dependent upon them not understanding this.