But the regulations cannot stop anything. They only introduce additional costs that distort the natural behavior of the market. And since everything in the market is connected, often in ways we do not understand, regulations produce odd behavior and unexpected consequences.
The rent is too danged high because the supply of rentals is too danged low with respect to market demand. If hotel demand is high enough to cut that far into regular rentals, that just means there aren't enough purpose-built hotels. The regulation chooses to protect long-term residents at the expense of visitors and owner-investors.
Why are they less valued people? Because NYC has a very high renter and owner-occupier population, and they vote. And does it even truly protect them?
People should be able to dispose of their own property as they see fit, without undue intrusion from uninterested third parties. This sort of liberty is sometimes inconvenient for other people, but when those people choose to restrict the ability of other people to enjoy the ownership of their property, they do the same to themselves. And all those petty infringements on freedom add up to undermine one's sense of control over his own life.
Attacking rogue AirBnB users may satisfy shortsighted political goals, but removing artificial barriers to new housing construction would be better for everyone in the long term.
That said, the guy from the article is a dick that engages in willful fraud on a daily basis. NYC is right to go after people like him, but not at the expense of solving the underlying problem that produces such people as a symptom.
Price is high because the cost to produce additional supply is high. Period.
> Why are they less valued people? Because NYC has a very high renter and owner-occupier population, and they vote.
Isn't that normal and just? People want something to happen, and they formalize this as law rather than applying mob violence, which is a Good Thing.
> People should be able to dispose of their own property as they see fit, without undue intrusion from uninterested third parties. This sort of liberty is sometimes inconvenient for other people, but when those people choose to restrict the ability of other people to enjoy the ownership of their property, they do the same to themselves. And all those petty infringements on freedom add up to undermine one's sense of control over his own life.
What you do with your property affects those around you; there's no god-given fundamental right to use your building for whatever you want to. We have things like zoning regulations for a reason - because we voted for them, because we wanted them.
> removing artificial barriers to new housing construction would be better for everyone in the long term.
I think everyone is in favour of new housing construction, but there's only so much Manhattan to go around. The choice is not between new houses and no new houses, or hotels and no hotels; it's between residential housing and hotels, and it's right that that choice be made democraticly.
The rent is too danged high because the supply of rentals is too danged low with respect to market demand. If hotel demand is high enough to cut that far into regular rentals, that just means there aren't enough purpose-built hotels. The regulation chooses to protect long-term residents at the expense of visitors and owner-investors.
Why are they less valued people? Because NYC has a very high renter and owner-occupier population, and they vote. And does it even truly protect them?
People should be able to dispose of their own property as they see fit, without undue intrusion from uninterested third parties. This sort of liberty is sometimes inconvenient for other people, but when those people choose to restrict the ability of other people to enjoy the ownership of their property, they do the same to themselves. And all those petty infringements on freedom add up to undermine one's sense of control over his own life.
Attacking rogue AirBnB users may satisfy shortsighted political goals, but removing artificial barriers to new housing construction would be better for everyone in the long term.
That said, the guy from the article is a dick that engages in willful fraud on a daily basis. NYC is right to go after people like him, but not at the expense of solving the underlying problem that produces such people as a symptom.
Price is high because the cost to produce additional supply is high. Period.