Congratulations! You Gentrify: Displacing a Community

Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2017 · 184 posts · 204 votes

This question is one I pose to anyone who has an opinion on the topic.

Obviously we're all here because we like something about the idea of REI and passive income. As the process goes, we find a "good deal" in some area, maybe make an improvement or 2 to the "deal", and if all goes well, we sit back watch the fruits of our labor grow through rental income, increased property value or equity. Now, multiply this by 100... 100 of us have found 100 deals, made 100 improvements, and raised 100 property values.

Boom. We just gentrified an area. A community that used to live there can no longer afford to be where they've grown up because there were a lot of good "deals" for investors to take advantage of and help our families and bolster our investment portfolio.

Granted, we may not have intentionally displaced a community, but collectively, we do. We just saw an opportunity and took advantage.

The question(s) I pose:

Do you think gentrification is an issue?
Do any of you ever struggle with the reality that we collectively price people out of their communities?
Do you ever think of it that way?
Do you ever feel bad about contributing to the gentrification of communities?
What are the alternatives?

This is just a philosophy question and some things that I think of, not pointing fingers or trying to be accusatory, or maybe I am. Just wanting to get a conversation started!

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James Free

Rental Property Investor · Fort Collins, CO · Member since 2015 · 128 posts · 327 votes

"Gentrification" is not wrong.

A neighborhood is either desirable or expensive or undesirable and inexpensive. It can move in either direction for a variety of reasons.

Maybe a community loses its industry and there are no more jobs, so prices go down, but it's still a bad place to live because there are no jobs and no future. Maybe hot new industries come to town and the opposite happens.

Maybe crime goes up, and people who can afford to leave move away. Maybe crime goes down, and people who used to avoid the neighborhood start moving in.

The list goes on and on.

Suppose we have a low-cost area that is in reasonable commuting distance from high-paying jobs. Why is it low-cost if it's so well-located? The obvious answers include crime and dilapidation. There are two ways things can go from here: The conditions improve and the prices go up, or the conditions stay lousy and the prices stay low. The "anti-gentrification" crowd tells you that price increases are immoral, but are they really ok with crime-ridden slums? Of course not. They promote magical thinking - the idea that we can get rid of crime and fix up the buildings without increasing the prices, even though the only reason that the prices were low was the conditions!

All of this without even mentioning that everyone who OWNs in a "gentrifying" neighborhood wins the appreciation lottery.

Shorter commutes are more green. It's better for society as a whole if the people working the high-paying jobs live near them. People doing little to no work don't have any particular reason to prefer one area to another, nor should we pander to them. The idea that you are more entitled to live in a particular area if you "started out there" has terrible implications and quickly becomes oppressive.

Finally, of course, the elephant in the room is identity politics. Most ant-gentrification rhetoric usually stems from toxic identity politics. People who get very angry when Identity Group A is displaced by Identity Group B don't care one whit when the opposite happens somewhere else. At best, such people are consistent in supporting the displacement of "richer" people by "poorer" people, or at least those they imagine to be so, while opposing the displacement of "poorer" by "richer." But adding emotional rhetoric doesn't change the facts above.

There is no good reason to keep crime in place, to keep dilapidation un-remedied, or to maintain filthy hovels when better alternatives are available.

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Kyle Fitzgibbons
Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 3 votes
7y
The question(s) I pose:
1. Do you think gentrification is an issue? No. Is it an issue that I want to live in a penthouse in Manhattan? Everyone probably agrees that I don't get to live in a place simply because I want to. I can't afford the penthouse so I live somewhere cheaper.
2. Do any of you ever struggle with the reality that we collectively price people out of their communities? No. I'm not convinced "we" price people out of their communities. There is a huge shortage of housing in America and that is largely government regulated. I lived in Singapore for almost four years and with a population where literally 1 in 6 people are millionaires almost 90% of the population lived in government housing (HDB's). It was common and understood that citizens needed places to live regardless of income. The government designed and maintained systems to enable this. This also was thought of as "government housing". They were nice clean and without stigma. It's just how things were done. Compare that to the NIMBYism of places like California.
3. Do you ever think of it that way? Yes.
4. Do you ever feel bad about contributing to the gentrification of communities? No. See point 2. I'd be happy to have different laws and regulations. I'd vote for politicians that wanted to build millions of housing units. And don't call this socialism unless you're willing to call places like Singapore socialist. The problem is just bad economic policies not investors.
5. What are the alternatives? See the above. There are even ethical alternatives such as deciding not to have kids unless you can fully support them - ie give them literally everything. I don't have kids myself and one major reason is that I see a very large ethical demand on myself before ever considering it. This argument is similar to the penthouse one above. Should I get to have kids just because I want them? Should I get to live in the penthouse just because I want to? These things cost money and I don't have them. I don't blame anyone (other than my own parents). I grew next to the most expensive zip code in America in San Diego and I could never afford a house there especially as a teacher that would be making 40K a year. I moved abroad to Korea then Dubai then Singapore and now Afghanistan. I went from making $2000 per month to $22000 per month while teaching overseas and never paying rent. After ten years of doing this I was just able to purchase my first house in California and should pay it off in less than five years. Gentrification is not the problem. People who aren't willing to adapt and make painful sacrifices while also voting poor economic policies into reality are.
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Cody L.
Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Simon Hernandez:

Interesting. I was just evaluating a MFR in Houston's Third Ward. Researchers from The Kinder Institute For Urban Research came out with this interactive map of Houston which shows the calculated probability of gentrification in each neighborhood. A very interesting perusal for those in that market. https://ricegis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=bd4e77b646f6494ea1711bb381cf8fc5
I’ve been buying in third ward for years as it’s obvious to anyone there that’s it’s in the path of progress
Even a few years ago I was buying under $20k/door. Then $20k. Then $30, 40, 50k. I’ve seen some stuff st $70k/door. It’s crazy.
I’m glad I bought when I did but wish I’d bought more (though I like to think I got as much as I could as a solo investor)
If anyone wants some 3rd ward stuff I have some on loopnet. A church and school and tons of land. Have at it :)
1 Reply
Cody L.
Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Jim K.:

Originally posted by @Evan Parker:
Originally posted by @Jim K.:
Originally posted by @Andre' Arceneaux:
@Jim K. Why would you pose a hyper sensitive question about your people when his question is primarily concerned with issues his people deal with?!??
This isn't Turkey or Greece. Thanks for the history lesson and unnecessary lashing rhetoric regarding favors, but he posed questions in a manner that clearly triggered you ...
Andre', I have very little idea what you're talking about and you use an awful lot of semi-literate punctuation. I can't even really tell if you just hinted that if I don't like America I should just STFU and go back to where I came from. Did you just do that? Really?
Relax...it's not that deep. Also, I won't speak on behalf of Andre's intentions, but I personally don't see anything in his response that insinuates
"STFU and go back to where [you] came from" or that you "don't like America", for what that's worth.
Glad I have you as an interpreter, Evan.
Why are you being a jerk? No one said anything that could be remotely considered an attack. Chill out
4 Reply
Jim K.
Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Cody L.:

Originally posted by @Jim K.:
Originally posted by @Evan Parker:

Originally posted by @Jim K.:

Originally posted by @Andre' Arceneaux:

@Jim K. Why would you pose a hyper sensitive question about your people when his question is primarily concerned with issues his people deal with?!??
This isn't Turkey or Greece. Thanks for the history lesson and unnecessary lashing rhetoric regarding favors, but he posed questions in a manner that clearly triggered you ...
Andre', I have very little idea what you're talking about and you use an awful lot of semi-literate punctuation. I can't even really tell if you just hinted that if I don't like America I should just STFU and go back to where I came from. Did you just do that? Really?
Relax...it's not that deep. Also, I won't speak on behalf of Andre's intentions, but I personally don't see anything in his response that insinuates
"STFU and go back to where [you] came from" or that you "don't like America", for what that's worth.
Glad I have you as an interpreter, Evan.
Why are you being a jerk? No one said anything that could be remotely considered an attack. Chill out
You see, people? You see? The Greek man is ordered around and emasculated and put down at every turn in America...we are the dispossessed that dare not speak our pain...LMAO.
You're probably right Cody. It was a long day.
1 Reply
Nick Rutkowski
Rental Property Investor · Ithaca, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Evan Parker
1-4: No, I don’t. Quite frankly, my region needs a huge change.
5: Affordable housing and companies dedicated to getting residents in these houses.
2 Reply
John Hickey
Rental Property Investor · Chappaqua, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 947 votes
7y
Very interesting to me personally. I have been learning how to profit from gentrification for almost 30 years now and it’s something I think on daily. As in where will it happen next....how do I make this happen faster....how can make sure it happens....what do I do if it stalls....trial and error to figure out cause and effect on what me and my fellow investors homeowners are doing that’s helping gentrify or slow it down.
The questions below I do get asked somewhat often. Usually I give similar answers of at all.
1. Do you think gentrification is an issue? Issue? Not an issue to me. Does it happen? Yes.
2. Do any of you ever struggle with the reality that we collectively price people out of their communities? Mentally struggle... No, but if the rents went down I would struggle with that and the tenants would be having a lower priced apartment which would be good for them possibly. What I do struggle with is figuring out when it’s going to happen and where as I mentioned.
3. Do you ever think of it that way? Yes every day I hope the area rents go up so I can raise rent. Some of my tenants will benefit from the area coming up and will pay higher rents. Others won’t and will have to move.
4. Do you ever feel bad about contributing to the gentrification of communities? No. Neither does the supermarket checker feel bad when they charge me for groceries. It’s just business.
5. What are the alternatives? I’m not sure I understand what the question is but I’ll take a stab at it. Like possible regulation on who can buy in an area or make universal rent control... Still not sure I understand that one.
6. @Evan Parker can you clarify 5 please.
I’m really glad @Jim K. responded on ancient wherever. I like history so it was an interesting few paragraphs. But I really got a revelation there.
Most people really don’t care too much about something that’s not happening to them or someone they know or care about. We all have our own life struggles and if we don’t live in an area and aren’t living through being pushed out we won’t think to much of it.
Thanks Jim I won’t be battling for any cities next to you...unless you want to join me on the front lines of the fastest gentrifying city in NYS....newburgh
A few years ago I was buying brick two families with tenants for 50k and they now go for 200k. 13 years ago I bought in Bed Stuy. I have been honing my skills for years now and if anyone has any tips or insight please DM me. Love to talk on it.
3 Reply
Chris Martin
Investor · Willow Spring, NC · Member since 2009 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
Related: Why Raleigh canceled a planned talk on gentrification in the city. The impact on those who rent is significant. As others have pointed out, leasing and handing away control of one's housing puts a renter in a weak position. When rents increase because of gentrification, the existing tenant base can be priced out. From this standpoint, gentrification is an issue.
Answers? City planners can potentially help with development incentives for lower income housing. An example is the 149 unit (98 SFR, 51 townhouse) City sponsored redevelopment project in Raleigh. The city works with HUD and sets the redevelopment guidelines through zoning and planning. Will this help with displaced (gentrified) tenants elsewhere? Doubtful.
Cities make sure there are enough schools for their population, so why shouldn't they plan for access to affordable housing for their population? Zoning and planning departments could be front and center on this, or, as is largely the case today, just left the market decide. I am in favor of the latter, but I see the argument for set-asides for affordable housing. Just like there are greenway set-asides for developers, and parks are deemed to have "good" social value, planning could define areas designed for (or incentivized for) affordable housing. These are just thoughts, not that I am for or against either way. I am very much against any government mandate, though, like rent control.
3 Reply
James Wise
Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 30k+ posts · 20k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Danny Hubbard:
1. I have a problem with gentrification, but also understand that for most people money is the end game.
2. I personally don' t price people out because the community I invest in still has almost everybody I ever known before I joined the military.
3. I would only displace active drug dealers, because my family still live around the area.
4. I would feel bad about gentrifying a community, because you systematically eliminate people that are no longer deemed worthy to stay somewhere that they were maybe forced to live in the beginning.
5. One alternative is to care and understand the needs of the people in the community you are buying into. being a member of the community I understand the needs and the struggles of those I may rent to, its easy to view tenants as only dollar signs if you are not actually apart of the community.
In regards to what you said in number 4 "I would feel bad about gentrifying a community, because you systematically eliminate people that are no longer deemed worthy to stay somewhere that they were maybe forced to live in the beginning."
I don't see it that way at all. It isn't about deeming anyone worthy of anything at all. There is simply a cost for the product, which in this case is housing in a given location. Anyone who wants to pay the price that the market dictates can live there. There is no one giving people the thumbs up or down on who is worthy or not. This is free market capitalism at it's finest. Surely you don't think that housing should be treated differently than any other product or service in this country; cars, clothes, boats, electronics, jewelry etc......
2 Reply
Nicole Heasley Beitenman
Investor · Youngstown, OH · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Tanner Marsey:

I was raised in a pretty expensive coastal area.
And boy does it show.
"Just go get a new job and move" isn't a thing for blue-collar workers and below. In case you weren't aware, doing those things costs money.
4 Reply
Dennis M.
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
7y
It blows my mind anybody would “ feel bad” about gentrification where you invest . THIS IS LAIGHABLE .There’s no room in business for such emotions .Why on earth would I feel bad about fixing up a dumpy house and making the community a nice place to live instead of a ghetto full of losers and broken down houses ? It’s a benefit to the world . To leave something better than you found it . These “‘displaced “people can go to another ghetto somewhere else and be lazy there .
2 Reply
Courtney Rollins
Wholesaler · Durham, NC · Member since 2018 · 157 posts · 50 votes
7y
@evan parker
Important questions to pose! I firmly believe that everything is political and understanding/appreciating the socio economic context of our work as investors is important. I do not believe that increasing the value of homes and communities and providing secure affordable housing are mutually exclusive. As several have already noted, there are examples of communities developing with intention that create thriving spaces for a wide range of folks. I think it is important to think about our impact and to make decisions that leave the spaces we invest in better.
As newbie to the investing world, I hope I approach spaces that I invest with a "rising tides lifts all sails" mentality. Thank you for posing the important question!
3 Reply
Trudy Pachon
Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2015 · 89 posts · 89 votes
7y
Gentrification is a super complex issue. So great to read through some of these posts about the ideas investors have about this.
My thoughts this morning are:
1. Do you think gentrification is an issue? Yes, of course it is! I live in California and teach here. I have homeless students. Homeless children are an issue!
2. Do any of you ever struggle with the reality that we collectively price people out of their communities? Yes, I do. But it is an inevitable consequence of a system that rewards certain behaviors and punishes the poor.
3. Do you ever think of it that way? I always do, but I live in the system and don't live under a rock. So I participate, though I try to do right by my tenants and my neighborhoods. Not sure it helps, but makes me feel better.
4. Do you ever feel bad about contributing to the gentrification of communities? Yes and no. Again, it's not me. I live in a system and participate in it. I have the luxury of profiting from it as well. And, well, if it's not me, it will be someone else. It's screwed up, but that's the reality. Would hate for some Lex Luthor character to buy up the properties I buy...evil laugh...
5. What are the alternatives? Affordable housing? Some type of system that allows folks to live in their neighborhoods even when prices go up? It has to be a collective decision that we say, "Hey, people need a place to live where they have family, jobs and roots. Maybe we can come up with some ideas about how to make this happen, while also allowing neighborhoods to improve."
  Someone much smarter than myself would have to say what that would look like though. I have no idea.
1 Reply
Trudy Pachon
Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2015 · 89 posts · 89 votes
7y
@Dennis M.
The attitude toward poor folks you display here is the reason people hate all investors. Seems a bit racially biased as well. Hope you have the opportunity to meet some of these displaced folks and change your opinion about people who don't have the same opportunities as you do.
5 Reply
Joe SplitrockPro Member
Moderator
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Andre' Arceneaux:

@Joe Splitrock The presumption is that the areas deteriorate without jobs leaving. That is actually HOW they detroriate. Look at Detroit. Look at Oakland (East in particular), look at Cleveland. Industries leave, aren't replaced, services are weaned (ie - policing) more permits for fast food places and convenience stores go up (you don't see this in the areas "fled" to) .. mix these and the property value already takes a hit, which means the school funding will be hit harder (local RE affects school funding in most locales).
It's a train of combustion.
You are right, jobs are a main factor. It is not just jobs, but types of jobs. Northern CA has a lot of high paying jobs but the lower wage jobs are disappearing. That pushes best use of housing to meet the needs of more affluent renter. That is what often drives gentrification in places like Oakland where geographically it is closer than other areas. For sure Detroit is an extreme example of on industry leaving and affecting really all wage levels. Even in my city, where we have had population and job growth for 20 years, we have had a couple city blocks condemned over the years. There is a point or no return where a property cannot be rehabbed. They knocked down the buildings and put up a large senior center. I have seen it happen in Minneapolis and I am sure it happens in most cities.
Of course loss of jobs makes it worse and to your point it becomes a "train of combustion". Bad neighborhoods means the quality of life deteriorates, which makes it less likely new employers will want to come to town. It is important for cities to keep on top of deteriorating areas or it becomes a cancer that rots the city from the inside out.
2 Reply
Anastacia Shelton
Flipper/Rehabber · Galveston, TX · Member since 2018 · 8 posts · 1 vote
7y
Shameless.
0 Reply
Doug Pintarch
Rental Property Investor · Harrisburg, PA · Member since 2018 · 369 posts · 406 votes
7y
Originally posted by @James Free:

"Gentrification" is not wrong.
A neighborhood is either desirable or expensive or undesirable and inexpensive. It can move in either direction for a variety of reasons.
Maybe a community loses its industry and there are no more jobs, so prices go down, but it's still a bad place to live because there are no jobs and no future. Maybe hot new industries come to town and the opposite happens.
Maybe crime goes up, and people who can afford to leave move away. Maybe crime goes down, and people who used to avoid the neighborhood start moving in.
The list goes on and on.
Suppose we have a low-cost area that is in reasonable commuting distance from high-paying jobs. Why is it low-cost if it's so well-located? The obvious answers include crime and dilapidation. There are two ways things can go from here: The conditions improve and the prices go up, or the conditions stay lousy and the prices stay low. The "anti-gentrification" crowd tells you that price increases are immoral, but are they really ok with crime-ridden slums? Of course not. They promote magical thinking - the idea that we can get rid of crime and fix up the buildings without increasing the prices, even though the only reason that the prices were low was the conditions!
All of this without even mentioning that everyone who OWNs in a "gentrifying" neighborhood wins the appreciation lottery.
Shorter commutes are more green. It's better for society as a whole if the people working the high-paying jobs live near them. People doing little to no work don't have any particular reason to prefer one area to another, nor should we pander to them. The idea that you are more entitled to live in a particular area if you "started out there" has terrible implications and quickly becomes oppressive.
Finally, of course, the elephant in the room is identity politics. Most ant-gentrification rhetoric usually stems from toxic identity politics. People who get very angry when Identity Group A is displaced by Identity Group B don't care one whit when the opposite happens somewhere else. At best, such people are consistent in supporting the displacement of "richer" people by "poorer" people, or at least those they imagine to be so, while opposing the displacement of "poorer" by "richer." But adding emotional rhetoric doesn't change the facts above.
Jesus, James! This is fit to be published as it stands. Well done!
1 Reply
Andrew Cornstubble
Rental Property Investor · Sedan, KS · Member since 2016 · 125 posts · 92 votes
7y
@Evan Parker the only solution I could think of would be to build subdivisions on the outskirts of town. If enough investors got together starting a town from scratch would be interesting.
But I don't really see it as a problem. They already have mortgages on their homes. If my personal residence doubled in price in a short time I'd be packed up and out before closing.
I'm sure many others feel the same.
0 Reply
Bryan Clement
Rental Property Investor · Union, ME · Member since 2018 · 161 posts · 104 votes
7y
@Evan Parker my ten cents? Everyone has situations that make it difficult on them to afford things. Granted, some have more difficulty than others, but I think overall we have the same choice. You can either be successful, or you can't. You either choose to afford the neighborhood you want to live in, or you don't. You can make the choices to live one way or another, and that will have ripple effects. If you decide to spend all your money, you never invest any of it, and you work at the dollar store down the road for you whole life, guess what? At some point, you will be priced out of your neighborhood. Not that there is a problem with working at the dollar store, if that is who you are, go work at the dollar store. Just know that that is a choice, and you have to live the consequences of your decisions.
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Andrew Cornstubble
Rental Property Investor · Sedan, KS · Member since 2016 · 125 posts · 92 votes
7y
@James Free true. Apparently before I was thought of my town of one flashing stoplight was a happening place. And about 10 miles from the largest cattle shipping town in the world. When trucking became the norm it killed that town. There are 0 storefronts that are functional and I'd wager under 100 people live there. When i was a kid they decided to bypass the highway through my small town and it got REALLY small. This place has been in a downward spiral and it had nothing to do with us.
0 Reply
Nicole Heasley Beitenman
Investor · Youngstown, OH · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
1. Do you think gentrification is an issue? Absolutely
2. Do any of you ever struggle with the reality that we collectively price people out of their communities? Yes
3. Do you ever think of it that way? All the time
4. Do you ever feel bad about contributing to the gentrification of communities? I don't contribute to it. I buy turnkey homes in my hometown, so I don't have to adjust rents. I've never had to evict an inherited tenant.
5. What are the alternatives? That's not a decision for us as landlords to make alone. An alternative solution would require many groups to come together and find a solution that was profitable and beneficial to all parties involved, including displaced residents.
0 Reply
Nicole Heasley Beitenman
Investor · Youngstown, OH · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Trudy Pachon:

@Dennis M.
The attitude toward poor folks you display here is the reason people hate all investors. Seems a bit racially biased as well. Hope you have the opportunity to meet some of these displaced folks and change your opinion about people who don't have the same opportunities as you do.
Thank you. I was waiting for "AlL tHe PoOr PeOpLe ArE lAzY dRuG aDdiCtS." Some people live in an uneducated bubble.
1 Reply
Carter F.
Rental Property Investor · Kissimmee, FL · Member since 2019 · 25 posts · 14 votes
7y
@JD Martin well said, even though I am not "pretty far left", I suspect that you and I could hang and have some good conversation about such things.
Personally I smell a red herring when people start using "gentrification". If you want to have a real discussion about caring for the truly needy, let's detach that topic from revitalization. That is something that needs to be talked about in EVERY community, not just the growing ones. And these people/needs don't need a villain (i.e. investors in your supposition), they need people that care with creative solutions.
On revitalization: In general, an area that goes through revitalization brings with it opportunities for existing residents as well as investors. Be it better jobs, better amenities, increased safety and such. Even people on fixed incomes or the truly needy can benefit when this occurs. Those benefits may be monetary or/and quality of life.
Unless you are Dan Gilbert, investors FOLLOW this revitalization. We don't cause it. I suspect that if you care enough about what you do to be on this forum, you aren't a slum lord and actually do care and provide quality housing for your customers.
1 Reply
John Clark
Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Lisa Parker
"The problem I have is when all the predatory lenders show up and push products on residents that they KNOW these “customers” can not afford."
----------------------------
I have a problem with that too, but the bigger problem is "customers" who won't use basic eighth-grade math to figure out that the deal is bad for them. The biggest problem is "customers" who won't shop around.
0 Reply
Dennis M.
Rental Property Investor · Erie, PA · Member since 2018 · 6k+ posts · 9k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Trudy Pachon:

@Dennis M.
The attitude toward poor folks you display here is the reason people hate all investors. Seems a bit racially biased as well. Hope you have the opportunity to meet some of these displaced folks and change your opinion about people who don't have the same opportunities as you do.
Ma’am
I’m not anti poor ... I’m anti lazy
I understand there’s a lot of poor people that simply can’t work due to disabilities but there are so many more that can and simply want for those I have no respect
8 Reply
John Clark
Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
@Trudy Pachon
"What are the alternatives? Affordable housing? Some type of system that allows folks to live in their neighborhoods even when prices go up? It has to be a collective decision that we say, "Hey, people need a place to live where they have family, jobs and roots. . . . ."
--------------------------------------------------
Let me play devil's advocate here: Why should we value -- to the extent of preventing gentrification -- living where one has family, jobs, and roots? Where, also do we draw the line? The family just moving in has the same rights as the family that has lived here for 40 years? No? Why not? Children grow up and move away. Why can't families move? Make new roots in new places.
To improve a neighborhood is to make it more desirable. Rents go up. If you want to subsidize people (and not force landlords to bear all the burden via rent control) then you want the government to say "[t]his person's family, jobs, and roots is worth subsidizing, but that person's family, jobs, roots, is not worth subsidizing."
Or you can build public/affordable housing.
2 Reply

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