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0 pointsrenewiltord4y ago0 comments

Surely you understand it doesn't sound very convincing that you've drawn the line at just the point where it doesn't affect you and no farther.

Crime is lower in places where more people own their homes, communities are tighter, streets are cleaner. All these externalities of crime, community, and hygiene are apparently not a problem when you're a factor.

EDIT: Whoops, alex_smart below has pointed out that I am suffering from the context-loss-disorder that is common on HN. It is true, renting is a positive-sum thing and good for many.

I'd reply, alex_smart, but the downvotes have limited my ability to do so.

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tptacek4y ago

Aside from the fact that this whole argument is risible, I somewhat resent the implication that my renter neighbors are somehow responsible for crime and hygiene problems. I think it's ironic that you think my argument is the one cabined by limited experience of the world. There is nothing moral or prosocial about financing residency with a mortgage versus paying rent. If anything, housing policy throughout the US is far, far to biased in favor of owners over renters.

The issue here is short-term rentals, not the deeply weird idea that the only properties that should be available for rentals are multi-family dwellings.

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alex_smart4y ago

>There is no real gain in productivity from allowing rental housing

This is the argument this thread had started with. Do you really believe there is no real gain in productivity from allowing people the freedom to freely move between cities in search for better jobs?

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